A CATHOLIC MISSION NEWSLETTER ISSUE 29

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Cambodia: A Church with life!

Bishop Olivier Schmitthausler and Father Bruno Casme had waited nearly four years for
this day. As the music played, the speeches echoed and the applause rolled, the two men
stood proudly before the very first group of catechists to graduate from the School of Faith,
opened in Cambodias capital in 2011.
Conceived by Bishop Olivier and five
priests, including Fr Bruno, the School
of Faith is one of many communityfocused projects funded by Catholic
Mission. In 2013, with the inaugural
graduating class of catechists, the
Bishop and Fr Bruno knew that
Cambodia had well and truly emerged
from an era which, forty years ago,
nearly wiped out the nations Catholic
Church.

The School of Faith in Phnom Penh

is one of the most important driving
forces behind the rebuilding of the
Catholic Church in Cambodia. Following
the devastation carried out by the
Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s,
the Church was left in tatters. Most
Catholics either fled the nation or were
killed, and only in 1989 did they begin
returning to their homeland. Although
it would be another four years before
the Church reopened its doors to the
public, Cambodians maintained their
faith and could see the Lords shining
light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
Despite what Cambodia has been
through, Bishop Olivier says in some
way the history of the Catholic Church,
in a nation that is 96% Buddhist1,
reflects the story of Jesus Christ: It is
an old Church because it is 450 years
old, but it is young because of the
Khmer Rouge. Religion was destroyed
so... the last twenty years have been the
resurrection of the Church.

Bishop Olivier Schmitthausler, helping to resurrect the Church in Cambodia

In the most astonishing sign of
transformation, it was reported in
2004 that nearly 2000 former Khmer
Rouge soldiers and officialsthe
very same men who just thirty years
earlier had nearly eradicated religion
in the countryhad turned to Jesus.
Hundreds had even received Baptism.2

Bishop Olivier says that young people

attending Mass, becoming priests and
nuns or training to be catechists are the
life-blood of the Church in Cambodia
and crucial to its growth. He and Fr
Bruno saw boundless potential, and
set about opening the School of Faith in
2011. With the first graduation of forty-

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html
2
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/oct/24/religion.uk
1

two catechists, their vision for the

Church is fast becoming a reality.

It is definitely a growing Church,

says Bishop Olivier. Last Easter we
had 300 adults receive Baptism. The
average is generally 100 to 300 each
year. It is a Church with life; a small
Church, but a beautiful Church.
The School of Faith specialises
in faith formation for young
Catholics, with practical teachings
in philosophy, scripture and the
history of the Church. Many of the
students are already catechists in

Continued overleaf...

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Cambodia: A Church with life continued

their parishes; and the training prepares them for a greater

role as teachers of the Gospel. The graduates will go on to
become leaders of faith formation in their parishes, says
Fr Bruno. Eventually, one catechist in each parish will be
asked to become full-time to help others in their formation,
though we cannot afford that yet.

Pheareak Sopheap is one who aspires to attend the School

of Faith. Already a catechist at just nineteen, Pheareak
spends twelve hours a day on weekends teaching young
Catholics he has so named the Little Seeds Group from his
parish; a job he has done for nearly two years. As well as
organising their schedule of Mass and songs, Pheareak also
mentors his students: I teach them about Jesus, and how
to live a Christian life, he explains. We discuss the homily
for the week and I try to help them in their journey of faith.
Upon completing his studies and earning some money, the
engineering student wants to enrol in the School of Faith to
strengthen his own understanding of God and the Gospel.
Having already inspired his father to become a Catholic,
Pheareak is an ideal candidate: My mother has always
been a Catholic. Before the Khmer Rouge came, she stayed
with the Carmelite Sisters, he explains. I was baptised
a Catholic and although my father was never one, I have
helped him to understand the Catholic faith, and he now
wants to be baptised too.

Pheareak Sopheap (left) and Father Bruno Casme

are growing the Church in Cambodia
These are things we must address.

However, thanks to the faithful support of donors like

you, the Cambodian Church is beginning to flourish. New
initiatives, such as a literacy program for disadvantaged
adults, are aimed at improving the lives of Cambodians,
many of whom are still recovering from the horrors of
the Khmer Rouge era. Without your ongoing financial
assistance, the continuing growth that the Church is
experiencing would not be possible. Led by Bishop Olivier
and Fr Bruno, and with their School of Faiths first class
of catechists having graduated in 2013, the future of the
Cambodian Catholic Church has never looked brighter.

Keen to remove any barriers to the progress of the Church

in Cambodia, enrolment in the School of Faith is free.
Gaining funding, therefore, is crucial. Operating expenses
are steep, with food, transport, wages and other costs
reaching upwards of AUD$100,000 annually. Fr Bruno
admits the Church still faces significant challenges: The
people here long for a church building. We have gone
twenty-four years without a church. Many communities
are also without a priest; one will visit only once a month.

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