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When I was in high school (a mission school), our principal (an Italian theologian and priest) was disgusted with the small blue New Testament bibles! He would throw them out of the window if he caught you with one, saying, "What kind of Bibles are these?!"

Another time, I saw a pastor preaching on TV saying, "If you have got your bible hold it up!" People were holding up smart phones and tablets!

What I want to know is, according to Catholic authorities:

  • Are digital Bibles appropriate in the Church?
  • Is there a special way of handling the Bible? How it should be treated?
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  • Welcome to Christianity.SE. For a quick overview of what this site is about, please take the Site Tour. In particular, this site is about the beliefs of particular groups and denominations of Christians, rather than individual perspectives and opinions. For your question to fit here, you would need to ask for a particular denomination's views on electronic Bibles. See: What topics can I ask about here? Meanwhile, I do hope you'll stick around and browse the questions and answers here.
    – Lee Woofenden
    Nov 15, 2015 at 9:07
  • I am an astute Christian and Catholic and I am not new here since I visit this site frequently not asking questions . So don't judge. As far as I am concerned I hv asked a relevant question which I need other Christian's opinions !
    – mykey
    Nov 15, 2015 at 9:10
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    But that's just it. This site isn't about individual Christians' opinions, nor is it a discussion site. It's about objectively answerable questions about what whole groups and denominations of Christians believe. See: How we are different than other sites.
    – Lee Woofenden
    Nov 15, 2015 at 9:13
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    I've edited, but before I vote to reopen I'd like clarification on the last bullet point. If by "versions" you mean "translations," then a different question has already answered it well and it can be removed from the question. If not, can you explain what you mean by "versions"?
    – Mr. Bultitude
    Nov 16, 2015 at 19:58
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    i have removed that last part, @Bultitude, it has already been answered by disciple
    – mykey
    Nov 16, 2015 at 20:19

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I don't know what a "small blue New Testament bible" is, but I suppose your principal was thinking about a translation.

In Italy the Church uses the "CEI Edition", translated by Italian Episcopal Conference in 1978 and revised in 2008 and it's mandatory during official functions - but in informal occasions, sometimes we use other translations: I will not list them here, but some are acceptables, some other aren't. But the official one is the "CEI Edition 2008".

About digital versions... I've seen with my very eyes priestes use them without problems during cathechism lessons and other informal occasions, but some of them still don't use it during Holy Masses (here is an example).

There is no official rule (at least, not in Italy... New Zeland Catholic Bishop Conference said that only printed books can be used) but in my experience I've seen celebrating an Holy Mass with an Ipad only once.

About your second question... every priest I know taught me to handle every Bible with respect, and to not destroy or throw it away.

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