A small Catholic community survived a genocidal onslaught by the communist Khymer Rouge. Christian Cambodians recall priest of the 1880s who bought their freedom from slavery.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Spero News
People of various ethnic backgrounds, united by their status as former slaves and their desire to follow the one who freed them, provided the foundation of one of the country's oldest existing Catholic communities.
Established about 125 years ago, Kdol Leu, about 150 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh, survived the civil war from the 1960s and the 1975-1979 rule of the Khmer Rouge. The radical communist group suppressed religion and is generally regarded as having killed or caused the death of almost one in four Cambodians.
Today the faith life of the community has revived.
Paris Foreign Missions (MEP) Father Francois Ponchaud, director of the Catholic Cultural Center in Phnom Penh, recently spoke to UCA News about the history of this community.
It all began in 1881, when MEP Father Lazard came to the region of Krouch Chma, near today's Kdol Leu, to buy wood to build a church. To the priest's surprise, he found many slaves being used by businessmen from Malaya (now Malaysia) to cut down trees. Father Lazard then wrote to the head of the Church in Phnom Penh, informing him about his decision to buy the slaves rather than wood to build a church.
By 1889 the priest had bought all the slaves and freed them, according to Father Ponchaud. His book The Cathedral of the Rice Paddy traces the history of the Church in Cambodia. "Father Lazard was profoundly shaken by this slave trade, which persisted despite the French presence," Father Ponchaud said.
"While some of the former slaves decided to go to different places to look for new jobs, others followed Father Lazard, and he started the Catholic community of Kdol Leu in 1889," explained the missioner, who ministered to the Kdol Leu community 1968-69.
He said Father Lazard wrote in one of his letters that the Kdol Leu community was made up of people from at least seven ethnic groups -- Cham, Inan, Kha, Khmer, Lao, Rhade and Stieng. "They speak their own languages but recite prayers in Khmer."
This Catholic community lived peacefully until the time of the civil war and Khmer Rouge. In February 1972, MEP Father Pierre Rapin, then serving as parish priest of Kdol Leu, was killed. Some days later a bomb attack destroyed the church. During the Khmer Rouge time, the community dispersed.
It wasn't until 1992 that Father Ponchaud went back to Kdol Leu to minister to Catholics who had returned to their village. The priest helped the people rebuild their church and re-establish their faith community.
According to Father Ivan Campana, current parish priest of Kdol Leu, the Catholics during the Khmer Rouge rule kept their faith by praying every day and teaching their children to pray. "Their relationship with God was the only hope they had during that hopeless period," the Ecuadorian missioner of the Colombia-based Yarumal Institute for Foreign Missions told UCA News.
Kdol Leu village today has 20 Catholic families. About 10 other villagers are catechumens. The villagers are mostly farmers.
Pastoral activities include monthly workshops for catechists, Father Campana said. "Every week a group of Catholics, especially young people, come together to hear a weekly radio program called Emmanuel, which features a Sunday Gospel reading and explanation," he continued. The Catholic communications center in Phnom Penh produces the program.
"I have witnessed the strong faith of the Catholics of this village," Father Campana said.
Thy Pich, 28, the village barber, told UCA News he was baptized only in 2005 because of the lack of priests. "But I had learned a lot about Christianity from my mother since I was a child," he said. He now teaches catechism to children and adults.
Former catechist Srey Aem, who makes a living by sewing, recalled, "Although we are very poor and my parents never went to school, they taught me to share love with our neighbors." Aem, 27, is also receiving training to become a kindergarten teacher. "Some people's criticism of my Christian faith," she said, "has made me love Jesus more and not be afraid of sharing my faith with my neighbors."
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Spero News
People of various ethnic backgrounds, united by their status as former slaves and their desire to follow the one who freed them, provided the foundation of one of the country's oldest existing Catholic communities.
Established about 125 years ago, Kdol Leu, about 150 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh, survived the civil war from the 1960s and the 1975-1979 rule of the Khmer Rouge. The radical communist group suppressed religion and is generally regarded as having killed or caused the death of almost one in four Cambodians.
Today the faith life of the community has revived.
Paris Foreign Missions (MEP) Father Francois Ponchaud, director of the Catholic Cultural Center in Phnom Penh, recently spoke to UCA News about the history of this community.
It all began in 1881, when MEP Father Lazard came to the region of Krouch Chma, near today's Kdol Leu, to buy wood to build a church. To the priest's surprise, he found many slaves being used by businessmen from Malaya (now Malaysia) to cut down trees. Father Lazard then wrote to the head of the Church in Phnom Penh, informing him about his decision to buy the slaves rather than wood to build a church.
By 1889 the priest had bought all the slaves and freed them, according to Father Ponchaud. His book The Cathedral of the Rice Paddy traces the history of the Church in Cambodia. "Father Lazard was profoundly shaken by this slave trade, which persisted despite the French presence," Father Ponchaud said.
"While some of the former slaves decided to go to different places to look for new jobs, others followed Father Lazard, and he started the Catholic community of Kdol Leu in 1889," explained the missioner, who ministered to the Kdol Leu community 1968-69.
He said Father Lazard wrote in one of his letters that the Kdol Leu community was made up of people from at least seven ethnic groups -- Cham, Inan, Kha, Khmer, Lao, Rhade and Stieng. "They speak their own languages but recite prayers in Khmer."
This Catholic community lived peacefully until the time of the civil war and Khmer Rouge. In February 1972, MEP Father Pierre Rapin, then serving as parish priest of Kdol Leu, was killed. Some days later a bomb attack destroyed the church. During the Khmer Rouge time, the community dispersed.
It wasn't until 1992 that Father Ponchaud went back to Kdol Leu to minister to Catholics who had returned to their village. The priest helped the people rebuild their church and re-establish their faith community.
According to Father Ivan Campana, current parish priest of Kdol Leu, the Catholics during the Khmer Rouge rule kept their faith by praying every day and teaching their children to pray. "Their relationship with God was the only hope they had during that hopeless period," the Ecuadorian missioner of the Colombia-based Yarumal Institute for Foreign Missions told UCA News.
Kdol Leu village today has 20 Catholic families. About 10 other villagers are catechumens. The villagers are mostly farmers.
Pastoral activities include monthly workshops for catechists, Father Campana said. "Every week a group of Catholics, especially young people, come together to hear a weekly radio program called Emmanuel, which features a Sunday Gospel reading and explanation," he continued. The Catholic communications center in Phnom Penh produces the program.
"I have witnessed the strong faith of the Catholics of this village," Father Campana said.
Thy Pich, 28, the village barber, told UCA News he was baptized only in 2005 because of the lack of priests. "But I had learned a lot about Christianity from my mother since I was a child," he said. He now teaches catechism to children and adults.
Former catechist Srey Aem, who makes a living by sewing, recalled, "Although we are very poor and my parents never went to school, they taught me to share love with our neighbors." Aem, 27, is also receiving training to become a kindergarten teacher. "Some people's criticism of my Christian faith," she said, "has made me love Jesus more and not be afraid of sharing my faith with my neighbors."
9 comments:
Vietcong are the root cause of all evil in Cambodia!
Let's the facts be known:
Peres Ponchaud, Ceyrak, and Rondineau and his crews are all Viet sympathizers and supporters dated back to the 60's where all of them worked to support and foster the Catholic Viets in Cambodia.
Live Witness from Kompng Thom province, Cambodia.
I support you 11:51pm but you forget something to say who accepted the Vietcong to be in the Kampuchea and provided the transportation of rice,medecine and weapons to them?
11:51 will tell you that Sihanouk is Vietcong agent. the KR criminal will always blame the VN. If you diasagree with him, you are also a Vietcong.
And you should not forget that Viet Hanoi is behind all of it! And of course, the Viets are going to keep denying it and then pointing the finger back at the KR. Damn commies!
To 8:59AM!
I will tell you what! King Sihanuok had warned all these Viet to stay out Cambodian territory because they are destroying Cambodian neutrality but the Viet never heed his plead! So at the end, King Sihanuok knew all along that he couldn't stop the Viet (Vietcong to the North and South Viet to the South) from violating Cambodian sovereignty so he invited all the Viet to Cambodia to kill each other! I always thought it was the coolest concept created by King Sihanouk!
I want to be the next generation of player who is not even in the game yet! So don't start accuse me for anything...please be a little patience because the UN is putting the Khmer Rouge on trial and until then you see next time...
This is a zero sum game and there is a price to be paid for any loser!
10:10am are you in the free world or in Kampuchea? You are so stupid. Kampuchea is the country the foreigners could not fight in this land. And Sihanouk is more claver than you he did not play the game like that if he want to save the people and the country. I do not paint who you are, you have to use your brain. When something you don't know don't say it. When you see is better than you hear and when you touch is better than you see.
To 1:39PM!
Don't fuck with me because I did my research! So tell me which of the Viet, the north communist Viet under Uncle HO or the South free Viet under AH Nguyen Cao Ky who violated Cambodian territory?
I had used my brain and I found out that my brain is more superior compare to your brain! So don't even try to teach me!
Come on, guys! Let's stick to a healthy debate and stop embarrassing each other.
Political game is beyond the basic comprehension, and those key people who have played it usually take the truth to their graves rather than revealing it. Their guiding principle is that killing one person is murder, killing thousands or millions of people is revolution.
World War II ended over 60 years ago. Despite well-documented research, some parts of that history remain unknown and controversial. Historians themselves are often accused of rewriting the truth. Because the truth can be very painful and embarrassing to the politicians. The conspiracy theories are abound.
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