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."
