PHNOM PENH (UCAN) -- The Catholic Church that was reborn in Cambodia less than 20 years ago looks to history as a way to instruct Catholics in a country that until recently tried to eradicate all traces of the Church.
Appreciation for history as a valuable Church tool was evident recently during a synod focused on "The Word of God Guiding Church History." The special national meeting, held July 11-14 at St. Joseph's Church in Phnom Penh, brought together 130 priests, nuns and lay leaders.
One participant, Chiv Sok Noeun, a recently baptized 29-year-old Catholic, admitted to UCA News, "I thought the Catholic Church was built in the 1990s or maybe during the time Cambodia was a French protectorate (1887-1953)."
Sok Noeun and some participants came from Kompong Cham prefecture, based 75 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh. The rest were from Cambodia's other two Church jurisdictions -- Phnom Penh vicariate, based in the capital, and Battambang prefecture, based 250 kilometers northwest of the capital.
Sok Noeun said it now is clear to him that the Church in Cambodia actually began 450 years ago. The synod also taught him that many people have died for their faith in Cambodia, and he promised to share what he learned with fellow Catholics back home in Kompong Cham.
Similarly, Y Yim, a 37-year-old catechist, told UCA News she did not realize that the local Church once had many Catholics. She learned at the synod that, during the time of persecution, Catholics continued to pray alone, or within their families or in small groups. The many who died for Christ are a good example, she said, and she will "remember the work done by those witnesses."
Bishop Yves Ramousse, the retired vicar apostolic of Phnom Penh, told the delegates that the local Church had been destroyed in the political strife of the 1970s, and few Catholics and no native clergy or Religious survived.
However, the 78-year-old bishop, a member of the Paris Foreign Mission Society, also pointed out that though Church buildings were destroyed, this did not mean "there was no Catholic community."
As many as 2 million Cambodians died from forced labor, starvation, lack of medical attention and extrajudicial killings during the rule of Pol Pot and his communist Khmer Rouge, from 1975 until Vietnamese troops forced it from power in 1979. The regime tried to wipe out all traces of the Church and to suppress other religions, including Buddhism, now Cambodia's state religion.
Church sources claim that Cambodia had 65,000 Catholics in 1970, but only 1,000 or so Cambodian Catholics were still alive when Pol Pot's regime collapsed. Cambodia restored religious freedom in 1991, and missioners began to return. Their first effort was to search marketplaces to see if any of the Catholics they knew had survived.
Father Tonlop Sophal Pierre, a Khmer priest, told synod participants that though people "suffered and were put to death," that agony has helped the Church in Cambodia become a truly Khmer community. In 1955, only 3,000 of 126,000 Catholics in the country were Khmer. Today, he said, there are 11,253 families in 84 Catholic communities across the country.
Today, according to Church statistics, 19,000 of Cambodia's 12 million people are Catholics. Only five of the 50 priests are native Khmer.
The synod also discussed Church history from its start in the 16th century. Dominican Father Gaspar da Cruz introduced the Gospel in Cambodia in 1555. After that, missioners from France, Goa (India), Philippines, Portugal and Spain visited Cambodia, but none of them successfully established bases.
In 1659, responsibility for Cambodia's Catholics was given to French missioners working from their base in Ayutthaya, capital of Siam, as Thailand was then known. Cambodia's first seminarians went to France in 1848, and the vicariate of Cambodia was formally established to years later.
In 1865, the vicariate was given jurisdiction over a large area, including what is now Vietnam. The Cambodian Catholic community grew mostly in the period 1902-1939, though still primarily among ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia.
The vicariate was renamed vicariate of Phnom Penh in 1924, and Kompong Cham and Battambang prefectures were carved from it in 1968. By 1970, the country had 61 foreign and Cambodian priests, and about 250 sisters.
The synod delegates visited historical Catholic places, including ruins that had once been churches, and the grave of Paris Foreign Missions Society Bishop Guillaume Piguel, a developer of the local Catholic Church who died in 1771. His grave is in Bram Bey Choum, 30 kilometers north of Phnom Penh. The bishop was apostolic vicar of Cochin, now Quy Nhon diocese in southern Vietnam.
Sister Ang Sangvath told UCA News that visiting Bishop Piguel's grave and that of a founder of her congregation, Lovers of the Cross, helped her realize the importance of knowing local Church history, especially since so many of today's Catholics are totally new to the Church.
Them Thun, a 29-year-old youth leader who belongs to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, told UCA News he learned much from hearing about the early missioners. He said this would help his faith grow and motivate him to continue to love his fellow villagers.
Bishop Emile Destombes, the vicar apostolic of Phnom Penh, could not attend the synod due to illness. However, the bishop, who will turn 71 on Aug. 15, explained to UCA News that the synod brought together Church committee members to thank God for presenting the Good News to Cambodia and for giving them the many early missioners as models of good example.
In December, the Paris Foreign Missions Society prelate added, the Church will celebrate the 450th anniversary of the Catholic Church in Cambodia.
The local Church has conducted synods since 1991, two years after missioners began to return. Two synods were organized each year from 1992 to 1998, but just once a year from 1999. Each time, the synod has tried to generate new dynamism in a Church that virtually disappeared from 1975 until 1989.
Appreciation for history as a valuable Church tool was evident recently during a synod focused on "The Word of God Guiding Church History." The special national meeting, held July 11-14 at St. Joseph's Church in Phnom Penh, brought together 130 priests, nuns and lay leaders.
One participant, Chiv Sok Noeun, a recently baptized 29-year-old Catholic, admitted to UCA News, "I thought the Catholic Church was built in the 1990s or maybe during the time Cambodia was a French protectorate (1887-1953)."
Sok Noeun and some participants came from Kompong Cham prefecture, based 75 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh. The rest were from Cambodia's other two Church jurisdictions -- Phnom Penh vicariate, based in the capital, and Battambang prefecture, based 250 kilometers northwest of the capital.
Sok Noeun said it now is clear to him that the Church in Cambodia actually began 450 years ago. The synod also taught him that many people have died for their faith in Cambodia, and he promised to share what he learned with fellow Catholics back home in Kompong Cham.
Similarly, Y Yim, a 37-year-old catechist, told UCA News she did not realize that the local Church once had many Catholics. She learned at the synod that, during the time of persecution, Catholics continued to pray alone, or within their families or in small groups. The many who died for Christ are a good example, she said, and she will "remember the work done by those witnesses."
Bishop Yves Ramousse, the retired vicar apostolic of Phnom Penh, told the delegates that the local Church had been destroyed in the political strife of the 1970s, and few Catholics and no native clergy or Religious survived.
However, the 78-year-old bishop, a member of the Paris Foreign Mission Society, also pointed out that though Church buildings were destroyed, this did not mean "there was no Catholic community."
As many as 2 million Cambodians died from forced labor, starvation, lack of medical attention and extrajudicial killings during the rule of Pol Pot and his communist Khmer Rouge, from 1975 until Vietnamese troops forced it from power in 1979. The regime tried to wipe out all traces of the Church and to suppress other religions, including Buddhism, now Cambodia's state religion.
Church sources claim that Cambodia had 65,000 Catholics in 1970, but only 1,000 or so Cambodian Catholics were still alive when Pol Pot's regime collapsed. Cambodia restored religious freedom in 1991, and missioners began to return. Their first effort was to search marketplaces to see if any of the Catholics they knew had survived.
Father Tonlop Sophal Pierre, a Khmer priest, told synod participants that though people "suffered and were put to death," that agony has helped the Church in Cambodia become a truly Khmer community. In 1955, only 3,000 of 126,000 Catholics in the country were Khmer. Today, he said, there are 11,253 families in 84 Catholic communities across the country.
Today, according to Church statistics, 19,000 of Cambodia's 12 million people are Catholics. Only five of the 50 priests are native Khmer.
The synod also discussed Church history from its start in the 16th century. Dominican Father Gaspar da Cruz introduced the Gospel in Cambodia in 1555. After that, missioners from France, Goa (India), Philippines, Portugal and Spain visited Cambodia, but none of them successfully established bases.
In 1659, responsibility for Cambodia's Catholics was given to French missioners working from their base in Ayutthaya, capital of Siam, as Thailand was then known. Cambodia's first seminarians went to France in 1848, and the vicariate of Cambodia was formally established to years later.
In 1865, the vicariate was given jurisdiction over a large area, including what is now Vietnam. The Cambodian Catholic community grew mostly in the period 1902-1939, though still primarily among ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia.
The vicariate was renamed vicariate of Phnom Penh in 1924, and Kompong Cham and Battambang prefectures were carved from it in 1968. By 1970, the country had 61 foreign and Cambodian priests, and about 250 sisters.
The synod delegates visited historical Catholic places, including ruins that had once been churches, and the grave of Paris Foreign Missions Society Bishop Guillaume Piguel, a developer of the local Catholic Church who died in 1771. His grave is in Bram Bey Choum, 30 kilometers north of Phnom Penh. The bishop was apostolic vicar of Cochin, now Quy Nhon diocese in southern Vietnam.
Sister Ang Sangvath told UCA News that visiting Bishop Piguel's grave and that of a founder of her congregation, Lovers of the Cross, helped her realize the importance of knowing local Church history, especially since so many of today's Catholics are totally new to the Church.
Them Thun, a 29-year-old youth leader who belongs to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, told UCA News he learned much from hearing about the early missioners. He said this would help his faith grow and motivate him to continue to love his fellow villagers.
Bishop Emile Destombes, the vicar apostolic of Phnom Penh, could not attend the synod due to illness. However, the bishop, who will turn 71 on Aug. 15, explained to UCA News that the synod brought together Church committee members to thank God for presenting the Good News to Cambodia and for giving them the many early missioners as models of good example.
In December, the Paris Foreign Missions Society prelate added, the Church will celebrate the 450th anniversary of the Catholic Church in Cambodia.
The local Church has conducted synods since 1991, two years after missioners began to return. Two synods were organized each year from 1992 to 1998, but just once a year from 1999. Each time, the synod has tried to generate new dynamism in a Church that virtually disappeared from 1975 until 1989.
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