Mongolia's Catholics: 300 and Growing (christianity introduced in 1992)

KOENIGSTEIN, Germany, MARCH 22, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Mongolia's only Catholic bishop says there is more hope for the Church in the country as the government opens up to democracy.

"When the first Catholic missionaries, one from Belgium and two from the Philippines, arrived here in 1992, almost nobody in Mongolia had ever heard about Jesus," Bishop Wenceslao Padilla said during a recent visit to Aid to the Church in Need.

"Since then, we have established three parishes with currently about 300 baptized Mongolian Catholics," said the 56-year-old prelate.

"And now that the government is opening up to democracy, there is much hope for the Catholic Church in this vast country," he added. "This year, we expect 80 to 100 new baptisms."

Mongolia, which is about the size of Alaska, has a population of 2.7 million, according to one estimate.

Bishop Padilla, a Filipino missionary who is the apostolic prefect of Ulan Bator, the Mongolian capital, stated that despite a "strong influence from industrialized nations such as Japan and South Korea," the average living standard "is still very low."

"Almost every Mongolian household has a breadwinner working abroad," he observed.

The prelate added: "The government has permitted Catholic education; they even asked us to assist them in the fields of education and social work.

"But for evangelization, much patience is needed. Today, 56 missionaries from 14 African, Asian, European and Latin American countries are active in Mongolia."

Dear Freepers in Christ,

Greetings. Since, I was born and raised in a Mission Country namely India, I have noticed today while reading some of your comments that most of the comments are positive -- yet you will always get on Catholic Caucus on FR -- some Freepers who have a negative spin on Catholic Missionary activities even if they are Catholic.

They could easily be more upbeat and positive like Freepers NYer, Salvation, Salty Joe, and many others.

Let me state one negative comment today.

"**is 300 out of 2.7 million really a lot? **

I have to say that yes, coming from a Country in South Asia where Indian Catholics are only 1.8% of 1.2 Billion that is a lot.

The most important thing as Freeper Salvation has just said is to plant the seed properly and catechize these folks properly so that they may bring more folks to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and his Holy Catholic Church.

Take for example -- the State where my Family is originally from that is Goa on the South- West Coast of India.

In the mid 16th Century, there were virtually no Catholics in Goa till the arrival of Saint Francis Xavier and other zealous Portuguese Jesuit and Franciscan Missionaries.

Today, Catholics in Goa are 30% of the population. Let me give you two more recent examples of the immense success that Catholic Missionaries have had in India in evangelization.

In North- East India, we have a State called Meghalaya where over 90% of the Folks are Tribes People. This Region was not evangelized by Catholic Missionaries or Christian Missionaries til 1922.

In the early 1920's, a number of zealous Italian Salesian Missionaries arrived in North East India to evangelize these Tribespeople. Today, after more than 60 years of zealous Missionary work by the Salesian Fathers and Brothers-- the State of Meghalaya is 60% Catholic and has a major Archdiocese to boot as well as a number of Dioceses.

Not only that all the Bishops and Priests are locals and are evangelizing other unreached Tribal Folks who live in other neighboring States.

Finally, In Eastern India till the early 1880's there were virtually no Catholics till the arrival of Father Constant Lievens S.J. a zealous Belgian Jesuit Missionary who had a great hunger to spread the message of Jesus Christ among Aboriginal Tribal Peoples in Eastern India and later with the arrival of many more zealous Dutch and Belgian Jesuit Missionaries the message of Jesus Christ spread like wild fire among these Tribal Folks.

In 1927, there were only 233,000 Catholics in this Province or Region of Eastern India -- today there are almost 2 Million Catholics in this part of India which comes under the Archdiocese of Ranchi.

This Archdiocese has not only given numerous Vocations to the Catholic Church in India in the form of Priests, Religious, and Bishops but it has the unique distinction of having the first Tribal Catholic Prelate who was named as a Cardinal by Pope John Paul II a couple of years back and is now the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India.

Please visit this Link whenever you can. This Archdiocese is the Heartland of Tribal Catholicism in Eastern India and is home to more tan 750,000 Catholics at present.

The Cardinal in question is Archbishop Telesphore Toppo of Ranchi.

http://www.ranchiarchdiocese.org

Here is an interesting assortment of articles from http://www.asianews.it regarding Catholicism in some South East Asian Countries.

I would like to finally reiterate what Freeper Salvation had to say the most important thing is to plant the seed in the Mission Field.

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=2754

12 March, 2005
LAOS

Ethnic Minority Catholics Build Community

Vientiane (AsiaNews/Ucan) – Religions are strictly controlled by the socialist Lao regime. Catholics are just 30 thousand but they do not lack of evangelizers even among ethnic groups. Khmu Catholics in Vientiane, recently organized themselves as an informal community, receiving a boost with their first faith and leadership formation.

More than 20 young Catholics from the Khmu (Khamu) ethnic minority group took recently part in a training program at the cathedral in Vientiane. Starting in August 2004 with 15 members, the group now has about 40 members. The Khmu form the second-largest ethnic group in Laos, after the majority Lao. They are concentrated in neighboring Luang Prabang and Xieng Khouang provinces, but also live in several other surrounding northern provinces.

Most are settled farmers, though some still live by hunting.

Three catechists conducted the training, which focused on the Bible and how to strengthen one's faith. Khamnoy, 20, who is studying to be a teacher at Dongkhamsang College, said the training helped her deepen her faith and encouraged her to spread the Good News to other Khmu people.

Khamnoy said that in her village the faith life of Khmu Catholics "is not strong," because priests are not allowed to go there to teach. As a result, some Catholics want to give up their faith.

On the other hand, the small Khmu Catholic community in the capital "is a good forum where I can regularly share my faith and make friends," she said.

Oblate Bishop Jean Khamse Vithavong, vicar apostolic of Vientiane, who gave the opening presentation at the training, congratulated the young Khmu for getting involved in the training.

Observing that young Khmu typically come to the capital to get an education, the bishop told them, "Education should help you serve others." Bishop Khamse exhorted them to learn patience, be open to others and to focus on the inner life rather than just on money and wealth.
Niyom, a participant, recalled how the community in Vientiane coalesced last year.

He said the young Khmu Catholics in the cathedral parish used to go their own way after Sunday Mass. Now they gather after the 8:30 a.m. Sunday Mass and share snacks. They sing and play the guitar.

"When we gather, we have the power to do things to help our society, especially other Khmu who don't know God yet," Niyom said.

They have translated prayers such as the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be into the Khmu dialect. They also have composed religious songs and plan to translate Gospel readings.

Each member donates 5,000 kip (about US.67 cents) each week to a fund the group uses to buy necessities for poor Khmu villagers.

Others said the community has deepened their faith life and expanded their circle of friends.

"My understanding about God is still weak," admitted Tik, "but I am proud to be a Khmu Catholic because God loves Khmu people too."

In 1995 about 450,000 of the estimated 521,000 Khmu in the world were living in Laos, which had a population of about 5.5 million in 2000. Other Khmu communities are in Vietnam, Thailand, China and the United States.

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=4821

7 December, 2005
LAOS

First priest to be ordained in 30 years

In 1975, the Communist government expelled all foreign missionaries. Although the authorities have placed restrictions on the ceremony, it will be a celebration for the Church which experiences a tough reality. The man to be ordained is an Oblate of Mary. “Very intense” lessons of theology take place in Laos: they are delivered by a “tourist” who goes for eight days a year.

Vientiane (AsiaNews)

Missionaries expelled 30 years ago with no chance of returning; one seminary “well controlled” by the government; “very intense” theology courses because they are secret and last only eight days per year... this is the tough reality facing the Church in Communist Laos. But tomorrow this Church will celebrate because on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, it will ordain a priest after 30 long years.

The ordination has been given the green light by the government but the ceremony cannot be public. The man about to be ordained in Vientiane’s small Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is Somphone Vilavongsy, a 32-year-old Laotian man who is a missionary of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

“Somphone’s ordination will be overshadowed by the government’s refusal to allow a public and solemn celebration in his birthplace and mine, which is also the first Christian village of Laos,” said a visibly moved Mgr J. Khamsé Vithavong, vicar-general of Vientiane, the first and only Laotian oblate who was ordained on 25 January 1975. “I am about to go to try to wrest permission, but it will be difficult. I will perform the ordination discreetly in Vientiane in the poor, small Cathedral. Pray for us… It’s difficult!”

Since 1975, it is impossible for international, religious institutions to enter and function with foreign members. There are houses of formation for the Lovers of the Cross Sisters (Vietnamese) and the Sisters of Charity of St Jean Antide (French): all are young Laotians. There is a major seminary in Paksé, approved but strictly controlled, with Laotian educators and lecturers. One religious goes to Laos once a year as a tourist and holds a very intense eight-day course in theology.

The Oblates have special ties with Laos. More than 100 of them, especially French and Italians, were missionaries there between 1935 and 1975, the year when the Communists of Pathet Lao came to power. A small but lively community developed and some villages were almost entirely Catholic. During the war, seven Oblates were killed and all the rest were expelled after the Communist victory.

One however stayed behind: Mgr Khamsé Vithavong. Throughout these 30 years, he has worked hard in a very difficult situation. Today he is helped only by an elderly priest, Fr Khamphan. Somphone’s deaconate and perpetual vows are a “sign of hope for the future” for the bishop. “God has not forgotten the poor, small and active Church of Laos.”

Somphone’s family suffered in the war. His father, who was anti-communist, was sentenced to forced labour and forced to leave his Catholic village to set up in a non-Christian one, where he was reunited with his family, composed of his wife, six sons and two daughters. They lived there for a long time.

To hear Mass, they had to travel 40km to Vientiane. The children were prepared for their First Holy Communion and Confirmation during the holidays by sisters in Vientiane. In 1988, Somphone went to live near the bishop and he completed his higher studies. For six years, he helped Khamsé in several tasks before deciding to become a priest and leaving for Australia, for the Oblate seminary of St Mary in Melbourne.

Somphone took his perpetual vows as an Oblate of Mary Immaculate on 26 June 2005 in the parish of St John Vianney, Springvale North, in Australia, and he was ordained as deacon on 2 July at Our Lady's, Sunshine. When he took his vows, the Laotian communities of Sydney and Canberra sent a delegation.

The Melbourne community helped to organize the event, especially the food. The greatest joy was seeing the arrival from Laos of Bishop Khamsé.

Fr Pricha Thamntyom, superior of the Oblates in Thailand, went to receive the perpetual vows and to deliver the Oblate cross which had belonged to Fr Pierre Chevroulet.

It is a tradition among the Oblates to receive the cross which belonged to another priest. Fr Chevroulet was a French missionary who spent many years in Laos before being expelled in 1975. He later worked in Thailand where he died in September last year. Fr Thamntyom took the cross to Australia to deliver it to Somphone. Thus the cross which Fr Pierre was forced to take away with him from Laos will now be returned to that country with Somphone.

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=2909

31 March, 2005
LAOS

Catholics celebrate Easter in a new church in northern Laos

Vientiane (AsiaNews/UCAN) – Catholics in Ban Pong Vang (northern Laos) celebrated Easter in their new church of Our Lady of Fatima which was recently consecrated by the Apostolic Nuncio Mgr Salvatore Pennacchio.

It is the first church built in this part of the country since its fall to Communist insurgents in 1975. Since then the Communist regime has denied religious freedom and constantly harassed and persecuted the Church.

Mgr Tito Bachong Thopahong, apostolic administrator of Luang Prabang vicariate and its only priest, was Easter service celebrant.

He came to perform Easter mass in the new church for 86 eager families who were very happy to have a place of worship of their own.

Catholics in Ban Pong Vang (Xayaburi province) are ethnic Khmu; they are mostly subsistence rice farmers growing vegetables and other grains.

Mgr Thopahong, who is an ethnic Hmong, experienced personally the regime’s aversion for Christians. He was jailed from 1977 to 1981, from 1984 to 1986, and for another five months in 1998. Currently, he can do pastoral work, but only with government approval.

“The presence of the Church,” he said, “is spreading slowly because it must work within the limits set by the government’s religious policy. [But] we want to teach people to become religious so they can develop the country in all aspects.”

He is optimistic he might be allowed to build another church in the village of Phonxiang where authorities have already given Catholics permission to meet regularly and pray.

Mgr Thopahong is planning to open a vocational training centre that would teach working skills such as sewing.
He also wants to travel to Nong Khieu and Viengkham, not only to visit Catholics but also to talk to local authorities about the possibility of opening health centres with funds from the Italian bishops.

The Italian Bishops’ conference has in fact provided funding for a couple of local programs, one of which is the Pak Leum Leprosy Centre in Luang Prabang.

The apostolic vicariate of Luang Prabang has 3,500 Catholics divided in six parishes out of a population of 1,248,000 people. (LF)

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=1554

25 September, 2004
LAOS

Missioner remembered for Bible, formation in Laos

Bangkok (AsiaNews/Ucan) - French Oblate Father Pierre Chevroulet was expelled from Laos 29 years ago, but the Laotian Gospel translation he is remembered for is still in use in the communist-ruled country. The missioner died Sept. 18 at age 80 in Bangkok, where he had been living since 1978.

During his 19 years of mission work his main apostolate was the formation of young Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He also worked on translating the Bible.

French Bishop Pierre Bach, responsible for promotion of the apostolate among Laotians overseas, said Father Chevroulet oversaw the translation of the four Gospels and made sure they corresponded with Church tradition. Laotian priests translated the Gospels, but Father Chevroulet supervised the whole process, Bishop Bach said. Father Pricha Thamniyon, superior of Oblates in Thailand and Laos, said that "the most important contribution Father Chevroulet gave to the Church in Laos was as part of the group that translated the Bible into Laotian.

The French missioner worked with a Protestant group on the translation”, Father Pricha said. His confrere in Laos, Oblate Bishop Jean Khamse Vithavong, vicar apostolic of Vientiane, recalled the missioner's first task in Laos was to learn the Laotian language. “He was also fluent in Greek and Latin”. Bishop Khamse said villagers found him to be a "pleasant, humble and understanding priest. On weekends he walked or rode a bike or horse to nearby Catholic villages to give pastoral care”.

The Gospels are still used today in the Church in Laos, said the Paris Foreign Missions bishop, who also left his mission work in Laos in 1976.

http://www.asianews.it/dos.php?l=en&dos=&art=2657

26 February, 2005
CAMBODIA
On Eastern Sunday 174 Cambodians to become Christian

Phnom Penh (AsiaNews/UCAN) – In Cambodia’s three ecclesiastical jurisdictions 174 catechumens are getting ready to be baptised on Eastern Sunday. Most of them are young and represent a sign of vitality and hope for Christianity in a country that experienced Communist persecution under the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s.

On the first Sunday of Lent, the ‘inscription of names’ of catechumens was celebrated. This corresponds with the second stage of the catechumenate. On the other Sundays of Lent, the catechumens regularly meet for Bible studies, prayer, rites to purify the heart and spiritual retreats.
Sophoan, 20, from Neak Loeung, said she looked forward with joy to her Baptism as a great moment in her life.

“I have grown a lot in my life as a human being since the moment I started to walk as a catechumen,” said the young woman, who comes from a Buddhist family. “My parents have accepted my new way of living without criticism,” she added.

In Phnom Penh vicariate, some 80 candidates are preparing to become Christian. On the first Sunday of Lent, about 1,000 Catholics came together at St. Joseph's Parish church to welcome them as they started their journey towards baptism.

Bishop Émile Destombes, the Apostolic Vicar, said an important aspect of the catechumens’ formation is that “the Church has been guiding them in their discovering and acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Saviour, the truth and the light through the assimilation of the Word of God."

Bishop Destombes praised the perseverance, faith and love of pastors, catechists and other leaders of local parishes who helped the catechumens undergo a real process of conversion.

He gave special attention to the two catechumens from Kirivong, 100 kilometers south of the capital. He explained that members of this budding Church community grew in faith by themselves at the beginning since no one was available to lead them.

“Although they had no priest available to guide them and no catechist to visit them regularly, they decided to come together to read the Bible,” the Bishop said. “They prayed and supported each other as Christians. Later on, they contacted the Paris-based Missions étrangères asking for the assistance of a missionary.”

For Bishop Destombes, "their journey to receive their Baptism this Easter is a great joy for all of us.” (LF)

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=959

11 June, 2004
CAMBODIA

Young people, unsatisfied with Buddhism, are converting to Christianity

Phnom Penh (AsiaNews) – Father Mario Ghezzi, PIME, a priest and missionary in Cambodia for the last four years is the pastor at Beng Tom Pun, a suburb of the capital. He also serves at the seminary as the spiritual director for the three Cambodian seminarians who are currently in preparation for the priesthood.

What kind of Church did you find in Cambodia?

It is a church which is young in its faith and made up of young people, who constitute the vast majority of Cambodian Catholics. For example, in my parish Sunday Mass, there are 200 people. There are only fifteen adults; all the rest are young people who are less than 25 years old. Of these, 100 are catechumens.

How does the predominance of young people have an impact on the pastoral life?

The Church in Cambodia is open to the future and rich in enthusiasm. The young people live their faith in Jesus with a strong commitment. The decision to ask for baptism and to become Catholics puts them in marked contrast with the Buddhist culture.

For example?

A young man who was baptized recently and is full of enthusiasm told me: “When I speak of my conversion, my fellow students at the university call me a traitor to the nation.” In the Cambodian mentality, a Khmer is necessarily a Buddhist. If he converts, he becomes a traitor to the country.

Does the predominance of youth create problems for the Church?

There is a bit of a generation gap and conflict with the older ones. The young people have that fragility and weakness that typifies youth and they do not have as a background the tradition and the adult community and maturity of faith. However, this is stimulating because it forces the young people to take on responsibilities and to form themselves well. The catechumenate lasts for three years. Every Sunday there is the Eucharist and catechesis. Anyone who is not deeply convinced will not be baptized.

How do these young people come to know the faith?

Often it is just by chance: a friendship, an acquaintance, or a meeting. Otherwise, there is school. At Phnom Penh there is a institute which was established by a French couple and welcomes two thousand children saved from working in the city dump. Some of these children hear about Jesus and become interested in the faith and begin to attend church. Others come to know missionaries, for example in the refugee camps. Christian charity is very striking to many Buddhists.

How do young people live with the memory of the genocide of Pol Pot?

They don’t talk about it. No one does, not even adults. The wound of the that drama is still open and no one wants to touch the topic.

What is it that encourages a young Buddhist to become interested in Jesus?

Buddhism doesn’t have answers to the basic human questions. People usually say, “Whatever happens to you comes from your karma.”

All is determined by fate. Young people find this fatalistic vision of life objectionable. Christianity speaks of freedom and responsibility, and this has a liberating power for young people. The young Buddhists who become Christians undergo a true interior revolution. Anyway, I think that every conversion is a mystery. On Easter night I baptized 12 catechumens. I asked myself, “Why these and not others?” To me they are the “fish” of the Holy Spirit. Another mystery is the fact that until 1970 there were no conversions among the Khmers; conversions began with the reconstruction of the church in 1990.

What aspect of the gospel was most striking to the catechumens that you have baptized?

Christian love and pardon. A young man told me, “when I heard for the first time about how Jesus washed their feet at the last supper, I said to myself: there is love that is pure, unselfish, and total” Another girl told me: “For me, the sign of peace at Mass is a very powerful sign: everyone there looks on the others as brothers and sisters and forgives one another.

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=958

11 June, 2004
CAMBODIA

A Church that has emerged from persecutions (Profile)

The Communist government of Pol Pot (1975-1979) eliminated the presence of the Church in Cambodia by destroying all the sacred buildings and preventing all religious observances. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge, the country regained religious freedom. In 1990, a church was opened in Phnom Penh. The institutional presence of the Church began again in 1992.

Bishop Yves Ramousse became the apostolic vicar in Phnom Penh. In 1994, the Cambodian government established diplomatic relations with the Holy See. In 1995 the first Khmer priest in 20 year was ordained. In 2001, Bishop Emile Destombes succeeded Bishop Ramousse in Kampuchea.

The Catholics today in Kampuchea number 19 thousand; 8 thousand of them reside in Phnom Penh. The majority are ethnically Vietnamese, while the Khmer are only 6 thousand. The Church has taken Khmer as the official liturgical language. This raised some bad feelings among the Vietnamese community; in fact, not all the Vietnamese Catholics know the Khmer Language.

The priests in the country number 50; there are 4 seminarians and 60 religious

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=4284

6 October, 2005
VIETNAM – SYNOD OF THE EUCHARIST

The Year of the Eucharist breathes new life into the Church

The faithful take part in great numbers in the rituals. Half a million people come to the National Eucharistic Congress.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The celebration of the Year of the Eucharist is breathing new life into the Vietnamese Church, a Church whose members really practice their faith, this according to Mgr Pierre Trân Ðinh Tu, Bishop of Phú Cuong, who spoke at the Synod of Bishops currently underway at the Vatican.

“Vietnamese Catholics are practicing,” he said. “For them, the Eucharistic celebration is of special importance. About 80 per cent attend mass on Sundays, and 15 per cent during weekdays. On important feasts, such as Christmas and Easter, the number may reach 95 per cent. If one wishes to find out the cause, one can find [. . . it] in the catechistic formation and family education.”
”In this year of the Eucharist,” he added, “all the dioceses prepared special programs. The [. . .] faithful are made aware of and invited to study the documents of the Magisterium of the Church on the Eucharist.

For the celebrations, the Episcopal Conference organized a Eucharistic Congress at the Centre Marial National de Lavang, [. . . which drew] 500,000 participants.”
What’s more, “[not only do] all the dioceses have special programs, [but] parishes have been invited to build adoration halls outside their churches and organize permanent adorations or [set aside] several hours in the day [for adoration]. There are already several parishes that follow this practice.”

Bishop Trân ended saying that “Eucharistic worship in Vietnam has had positive effects: religious life has increased, community activities are more lively, fraternal communion is more sensitive and mutual aid among families has become more natural and frequent. In brief, one has the right to hope that Eucharistic devotion will bring many [good] results to our country.”

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=1736

21 October, 2004
VIETNAM – YEAR OF THE EUCHARIST

The Eucharist at the centre of Huê Archdiocese’s mission

Huê (AsiaNews/UCAN) – After the Year of Evangelisation in 2004, Vietnam’s bishops in communion with the Holy Father proclaimed 2005 the Year of the Eucharist. The Archdiocese of Huê’s action plan for the coming Year involves encouraging local Catholics to evangelize and develop a strong devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.

Fr Jean-Baptiste Le Quang Quy, director of the archdiocesan committee for the proclamation, presented the plan on October 10at a meeting in Hue. Its theme was ‘With the Eucharist and Our Lady of La Vang, we are confident to begin to proclaim the Good News’. About 1,500 people attended including priests, religious people, parishioners, members of Christian associations, university students and catechumens, some 50 ethnic of whom are ethnic Van Kieu.

“Our pastoral plan,” Father Quy said, “includes daily adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament, rosary twice a day, visit someone in a spirit of evangelisation and develop positive behaviour by giving up drinking, smoking or speaking maliciously of others.

Father Quy said that “each family must meet to pray, meditate the Word of God, save money to help the poor and embrace a family from a different faith through prayers and deeds”. Catholics from everywhere will be asked to attend mass once week, attend mass on the first Saturday of each month, pray for mission and take part in charitable work.

In the meeting, Mgr Étienne Nguyen Nhu The, Archbishop of Huê, asked the participants to announce the Gospel during this Year of the Eucharist. He urged everyone, families and the entire community to “live out the Good News through prayers, visits, reconciliation, sharing and building up the community.” The Archbishop told students they could evangelize by helping friends with studies and avoiding social ills.

“Young people should lead a healthy life,” he said, “spreading virtue to their environment while adults should set a good example in their religious and secular activities”.

The prelate stressed that evangelisation is better in deeds than in words, "so we should listen to the experiences of each individual, family and community and learn from one another.”

During the meeting some participants shared their experiences. Joseph Parhung, an ethnic Van Kieu, said he used to be a shaman in his tribal community until he met a nun who encouraged him to follow the path of Christ.

The Archdiocese of Huê covers three provinces: Quan Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue. Its population is around two million people, 65.770 of whom are Catholic. It has 111 priests, 672 religious people, 33 seminarian and 1,456 cathecumens.

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=5351

9 February, 2006
VIETNAM

Salesians Fathers help Daklak Montagnards
by Vu Nhi Cong

With government permission, central plateau tribes are learning weaving, farming and animal husbandry.

Daklak (AsiaNews) – A group of Vietnamese Salesian Fathers have been involved for some time in a development project to benefit ethnic Montagnards in central Vietnam. Father Peter from the Da Lat Salesian community is in charge of the project. It involves primarily Hmong and Kho women from the village of K’rongo, 500 kilometres north of Ho Chi Minh City, which is located in the country’s central plateau, and area largely inhabited by tribal groups who are not ethnically Vietnamese.

Their life in the forest tends to be very poor and in K’rongo, about a thousand people manage to survive on less than 50 cents US a day (four times below Vietnam’s rate of poverty). Local families tend to be big, averaging four to five children.

In the forest, people engage mostly in subsistence farming using slash and burn techniques. Ash fertilises the soil where farmers plant seasonal crops. However, the lack of regular water supplies means that villagers can only plant maize once ever six months during the rainy season.
Vietnamese authorities have also historically neglected the area.

In the village itself, there are no kindergartens, schools, health dispensaries or cultural centers. To make matters worse, since tribes held land under customary law, ownership was never recorded at the Land Registry Office. Today, locals end up being dispossessed by ethnic Vietnamese who move into the area and lay claim to tribal lands.

“These people are poor,” Father Peter told AsiaNews, “but honest and lead a simple life. And I love working with them”.

“They can deal with many difficulties on their own,” he explained, “but we want to help them further develop what they need to fulfill their material and spiritual needs.”
With the assistance of Mr Chau, who chairs the local committee, and Ms Tu Nga, Father Peter is working on raising local incomes, enhancing the value of the local culture, and developing links with the community’s neighbours.

A year ago, he sent six young women to a training school in K’long. Here, they learnt how to weave brocade and make crafts. Back in K’rongo they set up to co-ops that weave brocades. The women who work there use tribal imagery—peacocks, dragons, kites, butterflies, turtles—in embroidery but are able to make new designs as well.

The Salesian Fathers also sent some of the women to school to learn Vietnamese, marketing and business administration so that they can be in charge of their own affairs. Some women are even taking English-language courses hoping that one day they might be able to export their products.
“It is important to find ways to sell our products,” Ms Mi, who works in one of the co-ops, told AsiaNews. “We want to thank beforehand all those who can directly or indirectly help us sell our goods in the market.”

In the meantime, the village is developing a farming sector. Salesians have taught locals year-round farming and animal husbandry. Cotton will soon be grown to be used in local weaving.

Women were also able to set up a kindergarten to give their children an early education and open a hall where they can show their ware.

In addition to economic development, the Salesian Fathers are helping preserving the Montagnards’ culture. They are hoping the government loosens his purse string a bit. The authorities have in fact offered land to build permanent structures for the two co-ops.

Until a few ago, the Vietnamese government was weary of the tribes living in the high plateau, fearing they sought independence from Vietnam. For this reason, it usually banned any Church involvement with the Montagnards. When something was allowed, it was strictly under government control.

Currently, after difficult years of persecution, emigration and flight, about a million Montagnards are left in their ancestral homeland. About 200,000 are Catholic and 500,000 are Protestant.

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=522

22 March, 2004
VIETNAM

Hmong Catholics see bishop after more than a century

Yen Bai (AsiaNews/Ucan) – Having traveled 6 hours through 20 kilometers of mountainous terrain on horseback and foot, Bishop Antoine Vu Huy Chuong is the first bishop the Hmong Catholics in Phinh Ho parish have seen in more 100 years. From February 9-18, the Bishop, newly ordained in October 2003, made a pastoral visit to 8 parishes in the province of Yen Bai, which includes about 45,000 Kinh (majority Vietnamese) and ethnic minority Catholics.

Arriving at sunset to the church in Giang Lao Pan, the 59 year -old bishop was moved to tears to see the faithful who had waited since early morning and walked barefoot to meet him. “Now as I stand among you, I am not tired any more. I feel closer to God and see God in each one of you.” The bishop was accompanied by 25 Catholics, including 3 priests.

Joseph Cu A Chang, 40, a member of the Giang Lao Pan parish said, the bishop’s visit brought the “greatest joy and consulation” to the tribal Catholics. “It is the first time we have welcomed a bishop here since the Hmong people first received the Good News more than 100 years ago.”
The bishop celebrated Mass, with hymns and songs in the native Hmong language, and confirmed 270 Hmong adults and children.

During his homily, he was moved to share: “Last night I dreamed that when I retire, I will come to live with you and die here. Please pray for me so I will be healthy enough to visit you again.” Following the Mass, there was a celebration where the people presented Bishop Chuong with a large wooden rosary which he wore around his neck.
The Phinh Ho parish has had no priest since 1964.

Only since 1993 has a priest come once a year to celebrate Mass and administer Sacraments at the church, explained Joseph Chang. Parishioners normally hold prayers, bring Communion to the sick, and baptize children themselves. On feasts such as Easter, Christmas and All Saints’ Day, the lay leader said, only the able-bodied can walk the 150 kilometers to Yen Bai parish, which is about 180 km northwest of Ha Noi.

During his visit to the eight parishes, the Bishop confirmed more than 2000 people, and baptized 30 members of the Thai ethnic minority. He also blessed new cemeteries and visited the poorest parishes.
During each Mass, Bishop Chuong made an appeal for vocations, and asked children if any of them wanted to be Religious or priests.

When some girls said that they wanted to be priests, the Bishop explained Church teaching to them, suggesting that they find in St. Therese of the Child Jesus an example of a one who wanted to be a priest, and gave her life to prayer. In this way, she participated in the work of the priests and foreign missions in a very powerful way. Then he asked parents to encourage vocations in their children by helping them to complete at least high-school level education, and to teach them the faith.

The Hung Hoa diocese, the geographically largest in Vietnam, covers 54,432 square km and has 197,436 Catholics—11,315 of them ethnic Dao, Hmong, Muong, Tay and Thai, from a population of 6.3 million people. There are 24 priests, 105 nuns, 27 seminarians, and 2030 catechists serving in 75 parishes, with 500 sub-parishes; 54 of the parishes are without priests.

The lack of priests in the North is due to the long persecution of the Church (started in North Vietnam in 1954, after it was declared a Communist republic). During that period many priests were killed and many fled to the south. Until now there has been a surplus of priests in the South, though the government does not allow them to move to the North.

Also, priestly ordinations and entrance to the seminaries need the permission of the government.

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=556

30 March, 2004

VIETNAM

Martyred Priest revered by Christians and non-Christians alike

Bac Lieu (AsiaNews/Ucan) – Pilgrims came in droves to honor the tomb of a martyred priest who was killed with his parishioners on March 12 1946. The anniversary of the death of Father Francois Xavier Truong Buu Diep brought more than 30,000 Catholics, Protestants and non-Christians to Tac Say parish in the Bac Lieu province, 1,990 kilometers south of Ha Noi, to offer respect and gratitude to the holy man who many say is responsible for healing of physical ailments, increased prosperity and good fortune.

The current parish priest Father Jean Baptiste Tran Duc Hung led an outdoor anniversary Mass with 18 other priests, marking the day of Diep’s martyrdom 60 years before.

Father Diep was born in 1897 and was ordained a priest in 1924, after completing studies at Phnom Penh Major Seminary in Cambodia. During his ministry as a priest in Vietnam, the country was torn with conflict between religious and political factions, and he was advised by an ecclesial superior to leave the area for a safer one.

“I live among my flock and I will die among them. I will not go anywhere” the priest stated. Later, he and 30 lay Catholics were captured by enemy forces and held in a rice paddy storehouse. The priest’s body was later found in a nearby pond, though authorities do not agree who killed him, and why.

Now pilgrims line up to touch his tomb and statue and give gifts of incense, candles, money, food and prayers. During the anniversary celebration, believers brought suckling pigs, roast pork, cake, flowers and fruit in place on tables in front of the shrine. Local boarding houses were filled to capacity, charging three times the regular price to the willing travelers. A 60-year old pilgrim from Ho Chi Minh City said that her 50-member group was fortunate to find a place to sleep on the steps of the rectory.

“Father Diep cured me soon after I visited his tomb,” she stated, referring to the severe arthritis that had previously prevented her from walking properly. Since then, she comes annually to thank him, bringing friends who also seek physical and spiritual favors. Thousands of pilgrims have left expressions of gratitude for answered prayers with small stone slabs engraved with the words, “Grateful to Father Diep” to be placed on the walls surrounding the church.

Many overseas Vietnamese also come and pray to the late priest. Father Hung said that the church has become a popular pilgrimage site in the region since the 1980’s, after reports of answered prayers circulated among the people. It was officially recognized as a pilgrimage site by the diocese in 1996.

On February 24th, Bishop Emmanuel Le Phong Thuan of Can Tho celebrated Mass, to mark the beginning of construction of a 2,000 seat parish church to replace the current structure built in 1963. The Tac Say Catholic community, established in 1925 with 200 parishioners, now has 1,500 Catholics.

Dear Freepers in Christ,

Here are some more interesting stories from Mission Areas in South East Asia.

I strongly believe that the future of Catholicism as a vibrant religion is in "South East Asia" specially in Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Mongolia, and even China to a large extent.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in South Asia mainly due to the opposition from Extremist Hindu Groups and Extremist Islamic Groups.

Sri Lanka does hold some promise as a future bastion of Catholicism but not a lot as a result of opposition from militant Buddhist Groups who have been clamouring for some time for a "National Anti- Conversion Law".

Please check out the last article which will initially seem a bit shocking to you all but it is all about the conversion of a Lebanese Moslem to Catholic Christianity.

If you all are interested in the History of Two Mission Catholic Dioceses in North East India, check out the following links from India.

http://www.shillongarchdiocese.org/subsequent.php?module=module.history.inc

http://www.dioceseofdiphu.com/aboutus.htm

Here are the articles which are all about Catholicism and its spread in South East Asia.

From http://www.fides.org and from http://www.zenit.org

Myanmar bishop calls on archdiocesan priests to focus on spirituality
YANGON, Myanmar (CNS) -- The newly appointed apostolic administrator of the Yangon Archdiocese has called on priests to be more spiritual. The apostolic administrator, Bishop Phamo of Loikaw, told some 90 priests at the annual archdiocesan retreat to focus more on spirituality than on material welfare and to view the priesthood as their vocation, not just a profession, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand.

Bishop Phamo conducted the Oct. 22-27 retreat as a substitute for Father Dominic Thet Tin, professor at the minor seminary in Bago, who was ill. The bishop also encouraged the priests to contribute to the development of Catholic literature. In particular, he asked them to read and write for the monthly publication The Sower, Myanmar's only Catholic newspaper.

Myanmar Bishops Urged Toward Interreligious Dialogue

Cross Is a Reality for Burmese Christians, John Paul II Says

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 19, 2001 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II urged a visiting delegation of bishops from Myanmar to promote interreligious dialogue, even as he recognized that their beleaguered flock "lives close to the cross of the Savior."

The military junta that governs the country, also known as Burma, "officially promotes interreligious dialogue, but in practice it is co-responsible for the violence and discrimination suffered by the religious minorities, especially the Christian and Muslim," says the "2000 Report on Religious Liberty," published by Aid to the Church in Need.

Christians have serious difficulties in obtaining permits to construct buildings for worship, and to print or import translations of sacred texts, the report states.

The report also reveals that organizations of the Karen and Karenni ethnic groups have denounced the kidnapping of women, some of whom are Christians, who have been forced to become Buddhist nuns.

Myanmar has almost 42 million inhabitants, 87% of whom are Buddhists; 5.6% Christians; 3.6% Muslims; 1.1% animists; and 1% Hindus. Catholics number 560,000.

The situation of Christians is doubly difficult since they have few pastors. In the mid-1960s the government expelled virtually all missionaries and nationalized schools and hospitals.

In his farewell address to the bishops Saturday, who were in Rome for their "ad limina" visit, John Paul II said, "Myanmar is a land where the Church in her early years knew martyrdom, and still today lives close to the cross of the Savior."
"The cross is the source of our hope and certainty: For every grace that enlightens and strengthens human hearts flows from the wounded side of the crucified Lord," the Pope added.

Among the difficulties facing Catholics and many Burmese are "widespread poverty, despite the abundant resources of the land, and limits placed on fundamental rights and freedoms," the Holy Father said.

"These problems are in many ways aggravated by isolation, which is all the more harmful when interaction between peoples and between nations is increasing and growing more complex by the day," he added.

"In this situation, the Church´s pastors must be all the more concerned to remain close to their people, and lead them in the path of the Gospel," the Pope emphasized.
John Paul II told the bishops that on the face of Christ "we see both the greatness of divine love and the greatness of human dignity."

"In contemplating the face of Christ, you and your people will find the strength to live the humility, poverty and even solitude of your situation not as a burden but as an evangelical virtue, uplifting and freeing," the Pope continued.

He encouraged Burmese Catholics "to promote that interreligious dialogue, which is so important at a time when relations between peoples of different cultures and traditions are subjected to great stress."
ZE01111903

Former Maoists and Animists anxious to become Christians by 2000

Interview with Bishop Abraham Than, of Kentung
Rome (Fides) – The Diocese of Kentung covers a territory which runs from the western borders with Laos and Thailand to the River Salween (in east Myanmar). In the last eight years more than 13 thousand people have discovered the Christian faith thanks to EV Touring Groups which go from village to village. Many more, including tribals and animists, others with no religion at all and even declared atheists and former communists, are preparing and will be ready to become members of the Church by the Jubilee of 2000.

Bishop Than, recently in Rome for the cause of the beatification of Fr Clemente Vismara PIME, whom he assisted to the very last, spoke with Fides about his diocese.

How is the propagation of the faith going in Myanmar?

Evangelization is easier in some places than others. In the capital Yangon where people are mainly Buddhists, there are not many conversions. This is also true of Mandalay Archdiocese. But in areas where missionaries have worked, such as Loikaw and Lashio, the percentage of Catholics, already high (about 25% Fides), continues to rise.

In my Diocese Kentung we find a fertile ground for evangelization among former communists, the majority of the population. In 1990 the people of Nam Pan village came to me asking for a new religion. They found no joy in being disciples of Mao and wanted to become disciples of Jesus. At this invitation we set to work and the whole region north of the diocese (Special Region 4) embraced the faith. In these last twelve months the seed of the faith has spread to Special Region 2, north east. Since 1990 we have made more progress than in the previous twenty years: more than 10 thousand baptisms in Region 4 and more than 3 thousand in Region 2 between 1997-1998. (see Fides October 31st 1998).

What methods do you use to evangelize?

We use, as I said, Evangelization Touring Groups which go from village to village. Each village is made up of about 40 families, 200 people. Our EV Touring Group is composed of one bishop, (that is why I am never at home) two priests, 3 sisters, 4 catechists, six Zetamans, (3 boys and 3 girls), one or two cameramen. Not to be of trouble to the villagers, we bring along our own rations. We stay a day and two nights, sometimes more when requested, to get to know the people, to have open friendly and brotherly discussion with them.

For this the group divides into sub-groups: young people speak to the young, the Sisters speak to the women, the elders with the elders. The Bishop, one priest and the head catechist speak with the village headmen and elders about village problems, and about religion, health-care etc. Young Zetamans meet the young, teaching them pop-songs, national dances, prayers and religious hymns. There is always daily celebration of Mass, the praying of the rosary and morning and evening prayer. In the evening we usually provide a video show for the villagers, many are illiterate.

So you also make use of modern media to proclaim the faith?

After much preparation we now have the people and the means to use the media in evangelisation. This strategy is always successful. We have video-tapes in the local dialects which we use for catechesis. The people show great interest, and we see the message comes across well with this method.

How do you win their confidence?

By being with them, sharing their day to day problems, working with and for them. We are not there to be above them but to help them overcome their difficulties. We have succeeded in piping drinking water, God’s gift, to more than a hundred villages. This makes it easier to speak of God, to praise him. Through water to God: per creaturam ad Creatorem. We also care for orphans and save twins and their families. According to the Animist tradition, the birth of twins is unnatural: the children are suffocated in burning embers and the parents, thought to be evil omens, are sent away from the village. We unite the little ones with their parents. Another field of success is among the sick and the elderly. Our Zetamans, young evangelizers aged between 15 and 20, are very important in this missionary work.

The boys work as carpenters and brick layers building chapels in newly converted villages, as well as houses for priests and convents for sisters. They also teach the local youngsters how to build. The girls teach in rural villages, they are also nurses, midwives, gardeners and cooks for priests, sisters, workers and orphans. We also bury the dead, a practice which the villages flee for fear of evil spirits. Through these simple acts of charity, treating them as brothers, we find the way to their hearts.

Does you work bear fruit?

Yes. In evangelized villages they no longer kill twins; they bury their dead and there is less strife and quarrelling. Faith changes life. They gradually establish a regular prayer life and carry the message of Christ to friends and relations. The children are the ones who pray more spontaneously and often they are their parents’ teachers! The high number of conversions shows our methods are sound and that we must keep up the work: the people are thirsting for God.

What relations have you with other Christians or other religions?

We hold annual combined services with Protestants and Animists (the Lahu Toboyas), organized by each in turn. The event lasts for two days and is held in the jungle. Each group prays in its own way. The Lahu live in the western region of the diocese along the River Salween. They know us and are very friendly because we have been to their villages.

What is your relation with the civil authorities?

Our work is highly appreciated by the village headmen and elders. The authorities of the regions in which we work are also pleased and encourage us to work quickly. When we move we inform the authorities and they leave us full freedom of action and movement.

But the Catholic Church is only a minority in Myanmar, does this make things difficult?

On the overall level we are penalized. But on the social level there is not much difficulty. I am not sure about other dioceses, but as far as we are concerned, we have no trouble in contacting the people. We have also gone as far as Laos and Thailand, where there are many non-Christians.

How about preparations for the Jubilee 2000?

The Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar (we have 12 dioceses) is preparing a national celebration for the Jubilee. In every diocese there are preparations on the level of prayer, liturgy and evangelization. We dream of converting all the animists by 2000.

They call me Abaw Yesu (Grandpa Jesus) and often come to ask me for spiritual and material help. Their Chief tells me they all want to be followers of Jesus by the year 2000. There are 10,000 of them. This then is our main project.

What would you say about the work of foreign missionaries?

The missionaries’ work was fundamental. They planted the seed of the faith and started evangelisation. Today we have more in the country. [in 1965-66 they were expelled by Ne Win’s Socialist regime and the Catholic Church was nationalized, Fides] I recall with deep gratitude Fr Clemente Vismara PIME, who worked in my diocese. We fully support his beatification and that of Brother Felice Tantardini PIME, because we witnessed their commitment and dedication. (6/11/1998)

MYANMAR

Fr Clemente Vismara, holiness of daily life
Rome (Fides) – Fr Clemente Vismara, PIME, could be the first non-martyr missionary of this century to be beatified only for his holiness of life. On October 17th at Agrate in the archdiocese of Milan, the diocesan process of beatification was solemnly concluded. Fr Vismara was a missionary in Myanmar for 65 years.

He arrived in the diocese of Kentung in 1924 and remained there until he died on June 15th 1988, at the age of 91, in the arms of his Bishop, Mgr Than.

After the death of the missionary, contact between the dioceses of Milan and Kengtung increased. A pro-beatification committee was formed in Agrate and now, after six years of hard work, the diocesan process has been concluded. The documentation, including testimony from many Burmese Catholics, is now in the hands of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Fr Vismara was in Mong Lin until 1958 and then in Pong Ping. First he evangelized the mountain tribes of the Akha and Lahu, now fervent Christians. In Mong Lin he even led a Buddhist monk to embrace the Christian faith. "His love for God and his love of neighbour went hand in hand; he lived them both with intensity" Bishop Than recalls.

"After God, orphans were his favorites: they were his second life, he could not bear to be away from them. He spent the little money that he had on them, saying: Divine Providence will provide…..we must give here if we want to receive in heaven". Bishop Than was amazed to see the commitment of the people in his diocese for the beatification process of Fr Vismara: "Clemente died ten years ago but the people still pray to him and go to his grave to pray for graces. They often come from distant places and not only Catholics, but Buddhists, Muslims and Animists."

During 64 years as an isolated missionary, Fr Vismara lived among his children and youngsters in the dispensaries he opened. Thanks to him, hundreds of young people discovered a religious or priestly vocation: many taking the name Clement or Clementina. He earned himself the title Patriarch of Burma. His PIME confrere, Fr Piero Gheddo says: "He is a good representative of mission which is radical, poetry, joy, gratuity, in other words, madness". (6/11/1998)

MYANMAR - Notes

Christianity reached Myanmar (formerly Burma) in 1500, but evangelization proper began in 1722 when the Holy See entrusted the region to the Barnabites. But it was difficult to spread the Gospel because the Burmese were almost all convinced Buddhists. In the mid 19th century missionaries from France (MEP Paris Foreign Missions) and Italy (PIME Pontifical Missionary Institute) were more successful among the numerous ethnic groups marginalized by Burmese society.

The two world wars brought upheaval which affected both the people and the missionaries. But nonetheless in 1955 the hierarchy was established. In 1965, following a coup by Ne Win who the set up of a socialist republic – Catholic mission schools and hospitals were nationalized. Foreign missionaries who had entered the country after 1948 were expelled. Since that time only one or two have been allowed to return.

This was the start of a period of isolation for Burma and for the Church in that country. In 1961 Buddhism was proclaimed the state religion and people converting to another religion were to be charged with treason. But evangelization continues, making progress among the Shan Karen, Lahu, Akka Mon and Kachin tribes.

Today, out of a population of 45.9 million there are 521, 000 Catholics gathered in 12 dioceses and 252 parishes. There are 21(3 archbishops and 18 bishops), 429 priests (401 diocesan and 28 Religious); there are 65 Brothers, 1,049 Sisters and 204 major seminarians.

The Church has only parish buildings for the administration of the dioceses, and for her charitable work, with orphans for example. The clergy is always under surveillance suspected by the government of being involved in guerilla movements.

This suspicion arises from the fact that 90% of Myanmar Catholics belong to tribal peoples and many of these groups are struggling for more autonomy. This struggle has gone on since the country’s independence in 1948. Promises of more autonomy, made to them by the government during the fight against the Japanese, have never been kept. In recent years, in a bid to enter the ASEAN (Association South East Asian Nations), the Myanmar government have tried to sign peace treaties with the different groups, but resistance has not been quenched.

The situation has negative effects on the Christians, caught in the cross fire tactics between the guerilla fighters and the army. The mountain areas are teeming with security patrols: priests have to register every movement whether at home or abroad. No foreign priest may enter Myanmar.

Slowly the Church has succeeded in breaking through the isolation. In 1984, when Pope John Paul II visited Thailand many Myanmar Bishops were able to meet him. In 1985 five Bishops were allowed to make an ad limina visit to Rome. In 1988 the Bishops made a first ever public protest against violent measures used against some Catholic demonstrators and assures support for the promotion of economic and political reforms.

In the violence and confusion of this period of Myanmar’s history, the Church’s witness is al the more important and necessary: the people feel a need for God and they appreciate the work done by Catholics for people living in poor villages. (6/11/1998)

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=3694

12 July, 2005

CAMBODIA
Inventing a mission in Cambodia
by P. Alberto Caccaro

Prey Veng (AsiaNews) – In order to perform his duties, Fr Alberto Caccaro, a missionary with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), has few tools: a motorcycle, a map to find his way around different villages and the Passion of Christ as an example to follow.

He just arrived eight months ago in Prey Veng (eastern Cambodia) to take up the function of resident priest, but he has been in the country for the past four years.
In a conversation with AsiaNews, he spoke about how he is “inventing” his mission from scratch, day after day, demanding nothing from the people he meets, only offering his love.

He talks about how he is going door to door to meet and learn about people, their families, Buddhist villages; how in the process, he is discovering what fascinates these people most about Christianity, namely that “paying attention to others need not cost anything, that passion for one’s fellows need no bear any interests, that forgiveness” is possible.

He speaks about his friendship with Buddhist monks, about the Church’s commitment to educate the young and heal the sick in a country whose rulers seem “indifferent” to the problems of the population.

The mission

I have just come back from a tour of the villages, totally wet. I drove around in my motorcycle and halfway I was caught in rain. I had to slow down to avoid skidding.
Among these simple people, my mission is something I must invent on a touch-and-go basis.

For instance, today I visited a family. Their home burnt down accidentally four months ago. The wind blew some sparks that set off a fire that not only destroyed the building but also burnt all their rice reserves, the equivalent of 100 euros (120 US dollars). The people hung rice bags from the ceiling the way in our country people stuffed money in their mattresses.

It was the smoke that led me to them.

When I started my ministry in Prey Veng I didn’t know anyone. I went out going down a path, usually a dirt road, till I reached some villages; I started to follow people, or like that time . . . I went towards the billowing smoke.
Not one but ten houses were going up in flames.
Since then I started to help these people; never with money, but always we some tool that might help them get back working the earth.

Now I go back to see them on an almost regular basis, finally without any pretence that they want to hear a priest and the missionary. If I think about their fate, I am reminded of the man possessed by the devil that Jesus healed in the Gospel of Mark (Mk, 5:18-19).

Jesus healed the man without asking him to follow him.

Jesus was not hurried, he gave him time to think, to be with his folks, to wonder about all the strange ways Heaven uses o make itself heard.Even if there are some Christians of Vietnamese origin living in the same settlement, for me life is a bit lonely in this early part of my mission stage.

Among the Cambodians, there is only one Christian.

Evangelisation faces major obstacles. The local mentality, which is rooted in Buddhism, views every person as his “own refuge”. In Buddhism, the notion of grace does not exist.

The social structure is caste-based with divisions determined by one’s economic activity and wealth. There is a certain sense that everything is fixed. And of course, there is the fact that, traditionally, everything was Buddhist.

Relations with the Buddhist community and how the Passion of Christ is making a difference.

Relations with the Buddhist community are good and based on mutual respect.

Many priests sincerely try to reach out and meet others in unrehearsed situations.

By contrast, Buddhists can count on 50,000 monks and 5,000 pagodas and know that they are the national religion.
At my place, we just started teaching English and I invited some Buddhist monks with whom I am friends.
It must be clearly understood that I am in Cambodia to take their place.

I must still search.

If we could apply Buddhism to the letter, we certainly would be free of any type of passion.

According to Buddhism, suffering comes from love.

I have no doubts about the effectiveness of the spiritual path that the Buddha taught. But I do ask myself whether it meets the most intimate human needs.

Is overcoming suffering what makes us mot human? Can a mother not suffer for her child? Or isn’t it rather true that suffering is a mark of our identity?

For the past three years, it has become clearer to me that I can give up passions, and, among them, feelings of affection, but I cannot give up the Passion.

Like Christ. The Passion to love, the Passion to seek out and show what makes humans true, beautiful and good.
It is the Passion of Christ that makes all the difference, that leads the two religious experiences in different directions, even if we can help each other.

Buddhism still fascinates me, but I cannot be silent about the Cross.The Passion is the overflowing of meaning and love that my heart reaches, desires, beseeches.The Passion creates, generates love, and for this reason, is the future
In the Gospel of John, Jesus says that he came so that no one would be lost.

I’d like to die for the same reason, for the same passion, for the same love of God for each of his children, even if suffering comes from love”.

The local Church

Of the three dioceses that make up the Cambodian Catholic Church—one Apostolic Vicariate (Phnom Penh) and two Apostolic Prefectures (Battambang and Kompong Cham) —the last one, mine, is the poorest one.

Still, I am happy for these small communities, where we can count each other on the fingers of one, perhaps two hands, of my brothers’ small but yet visible progress, of the faithfulness to the monthly presbytery meetings that nourish the same Passion, the one that refuses to accept that someone might be lost, even among us priests.
Relations with the authorities are very good.

The King actually attended the requiem mass for Pope John Paul II.

Ethnic Cambodians represent one third of all Christians in the country, the other two are ethnic Vietnamese.
But the heavy presence of Protestant Churches, with some of them being sects, has given Christianity a bad reputation.

What’s more, the improper use by some of them of money when proselytising is creating expectations in some locals that they can make money in converting and attending religious functions in such or such a Church.

We still have to resolve ongoing issues related to inculturation and preparing adults for the faith.
There have been some vocations. There is a national seminary with five candidates and several conversions.

But these things take time. And for us Catholics, things are different from the other Christian denominations because we require a long period of study before anyone can convert.

Catholics’ social involvement in society

Cambodian farmers wait for rain in their thousands before they can start work in the rice fields. But is has not yet come.There are no adequate plans to manage the country’s water resources with basins, canals, wells and roads.
Corruption is rampant and there is chronic unemployment. The school system does not teach how to think critically, to analyse things, to think logically.

This has had an impact in every domain. Patronage politics and a certain form of cultural deprivation have prevented people from dreaming.

It is clear that here the free flow of ideas is paltry and that an intelligentsia that writes, debates, provokes, offers ideas and thinks about the future is missing.
Those who run the country give the impression of being elsewhere, of being indifferent.

In this context, PIME and other Catholic groups are involved in youth education, pastoral work at the parish level, with the sick.We are dreaming about one or more schools where thinking and research might be fostered, and culture, in its wider sense, developed.
Even though locally the Church is still not very socially relevant and lacks visibility, there are men and women religious in the country—Salesians, Jesuits, missionaries of Charity—who are truly dedicated.

Article 43 of Cambodia’s constitution guarantees religious freedom, something that the government respects and protects. However, a recent rise in nationalist fervour, which closely related to Buddhism as the state religion, has led to the persecution of Christians, especially in rural areas, and raised fears among Muslims, who receive foreign funding.

Out of a population of 12.7 million people, Buddhists are 84.7 per cent, whilst Christians are just over 1 per cent.

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=5715

23 March, 2006
CAMBODIA - VIETNAM
“Floating parish” in Ton Le Sap Lake, Cambodia
by JB Vu

The church was set up in a village of fishermen, who all live in floating houses. Every Sunday, a Vietnamese priest celebrates Mass in Cambodian and they are often visited by western missionaries. But the problem of language remains.

Ho Chi Minh City (Asianews) – The “floating parish” of Ton Le Sap lake in Cambodia has steadfast worshippers but a lack of Cambodian-speaking priests. A Vietnamese priest goes to Chuork Trou, 140km north-east of Phnom Penh, to celebrate Mass for 250 Vietnamese people who live close by the floating church. It is a poor, needy area, where people face floods two months a year. All live in floating homes and survive by eating fish.

An old man of the parish told Asianews: “Every Sunday a Vietnamese Father comes here to say Mass in Cambodian. Some time western missionaries come to say mass and to organize activities for people here. So, we do not feel alone, because missionaries come here frequently and encourage us.”

A young man underlined the problems facing the people there: “We just doing fishing, earning little. We have no teachers able to teach our children Vietnamese, so they can only speak Cambodian.”

Christianity came to Cambodia in 1660. In 1972, there were around 20,000 Christians, mostly Catholics. Before the repatriation of the Vietnamese in 1970 and 1971, possibly as many as 62,000 Christians lived in Cambodia.

According to statistics, in 1953, members of the Roman Catholic Church in Cambodia numbered 120,000. In April 1970, just before repatriation, estimates indicate that about 50,000 Catholics were Vietnamese.

Many of the Catholics remaining in Cambodia in 1972 were Europeans - chiefly French. In 1953, an American Unitarian mission maintained a teacher-training school in Phnom Penh, and Baptist missions functioned in Battambang and Siemreab provinces. A Christian and Missionary Alliance mission was founded in Cambodia in 1923; by 1962 the mission had converted about 2,000 people.

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=1732

20 October, 2004

CAMBODIA – YEAR OF THE EUCHARIST
Between salvation and gratitude, Christ in Cambodia
by Lorenzo Fazzini

A missioner describes how he announces the Eucharist in a Buddhist world.

Rome (AsiaNews) – The Eucharist is a distinctive sign that sets Catholics apart. It is the source of life for the Church, a concrete experience of God freely giving himself to us. This is how a Cambodia-based missioner described the Eucharist to AsiaNews as Cambodian Catholics experience it in a predominantly Buddhist context.
Fr Gerald Vogin, from the Missions étrangères de Paris (MEP), has been a missioner in Cambodia since 1992.

In 1995, he became parish priest in Kompong Cham (a city with 150,000 people in the eastern part of the country). In Cambodia, there are 4,000 Catholics out of 4 million people; one in one thousand.

A native of Bordeaux (France), Father Vogin lives out his mission in a country with a Buddhist majority, a country marked by a past of anti-Christian persecution by the Khmer Rouges.

Speaking to AsiaNews, he told us about the life of his Cambodian church, the central place the Eucharist has in the lives of Catholics, the attraction of Christianity and the meaning of mission in a Buddhist country.

The Pope proclaimed the Year of the Eucharist. How does the Eucharist touch the lives of Buddhist converts to Christianity?

One thing that distinguishes Christianity from Buddhism is without a doubt the notion of thanksgiving. In Buddhism, ach person is alone and no one can help others to save themselves. A convert to Christianity discovers that although he or she may have done nothing deserving and may have in fact many sins to account for they still receive boundless love and find that their lives are considered precious. Former Buddhists are truly moved by this because in Buddhist culture, life is about suffering and sadness. By contrast, Christians proclaim that life is a gift from God and this comes as a shock.

Buddhism clearly differentiates suffering from reason. If you suffer you have done something wrong. When Christians receive the body and blood of Christ they feel intimately touched by God’s love, something they may feel they do not deserve. If Buddhism tells you, you get what you deserve, Christianity says that you freely receive salvation and thank God for it. Christians are happier for salvation and give thanks in the Eucharistic celebration.

What does it mean for you to be a missioner?

It means connecting with those who seek hope and meaning in life. At times, I feel like Peter in the Temple when confronted by the crippled begging him for help. When Cambodians ask me for meaning I tell them: “I give you Christ. You can be certain you can live with Him”. And every day people come to ask me about Christianity and Christ. As a missioner, this is rewarding.

How important is the Eucharist in your life as a missioner?

The Eucharist is something concrete that Christians experience every day and every week. It is their way to regularly meet Christ and in doing so they form the community of His disciples.

For missioners like me, it truly signifies the Church.
Right away, we try to teach our catechumens that Christians meet to read the Word of God and, on every Sunday, celebrate the Eucharist. We teach them that this is done not because there is a priest but because Christ beckons them every Sunday.

As a missioner I experience the Eucharist in a special way because I am twice a foreigner; foreigner by nationality and foreigner by cultural and religious identity.
Sometimes, missionary life entails that after the initial enthusiastic response crisis sets in.

This happened to me and for this reason I pushed myself to live the true Eucharist which is the trail in which we go from death to life. This is not a mere theory; it is a concrete experience.

Finally, celebrating the Eucharist empowers you because it links us to every reality: to God, man, the world, every religion, history and creation. I remember a sentence from St Theresa of the Child Jesus who said that “in the Eucharist, I have everything: butterfly and mountain. [in the Eucharist], I am a missioner and martyr”.

What is the most effective aspect of Christianity in your mission in Cambodia?

People see how Christians live and are surprised by the ways they help each other. Today’s Cambodia is deeply scarred by the violence of the past. The current hopelessness and poverty are rooted in it. Circumstances are such that they encourage people to only look out for themselves. Consequently, non Christians marvel at how we help one another.

A Buddhist man told me: “In the church I see people talking to each other and helping one another”. In one village, two women told me that they “wanted to stay with the Christians not to become Christian but because you people live better and are happier. We can read a great joy on your faces”. Now they regularly attend church.
Many converts told me that “I was too poor to be Buddhist”. In fact, to be a good Buddhist, people must give a lot of money to the Buddhist monks in the pagodas to enhance your karma.

This obligation is driving many people away from their old religion. They come to church where they discover a community that offers them free help, a place where they can meet people for whom money and honours are not values by which man is judged.

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=2555

12 February, 2005
LEBANON

Lebanese Muslim "seduced by Christ"
by p. Samir Khalil Samir Society of Jesus

Muhammad, 30, is a student at Beirut’s Lebanese University. He attended mass for the first time last Christmas. On Easter, he will be baptised. Here is a preview of his story which will appear in its entirety in the February 2005 issue of Mondo e Missione, PIME*’s monthly magazine.

Beirut (AsiaNews) – This is an ordinary story but one that speaks of the fascination for Christ among people of every age, culture and nation. At the centre of the tale is a young Muslim, its author, Fr Samir Khalil Samir, an Egyptian Jesuit who teaches History of Arab Culture and Islamic Studies at Beirut’s Université de Saint-Joseph.
One day Muhammad told me he wanted to talk to me. Since many students are looking for a subject for their dissertation, I thought that must be the reason. But instead, it was not that: Muhammad wanted to learn about Christianity, in particular the Gospels.

Since I didn’t know him, I was on my guard. What if he had been sent by some Islamic group trying to test me. [. . .]
But the young man really seemed bent on finding out more about the Gospel and since he insisted I gave him a pocket-size version.

A few days later, Muhammad rang the bell. He told me he had read some pages and was really taken by them. He said Christ really appeared to be “a man of peace”, someone open to everyone, someone opposed to violence.

We talked about it. I told him to write on one side of a notebook those verses that struck him and on the other those that puzzled him or seemed unclear. And so we decided to meet every week to exchange ideas about the different parts of the Gospel.

Months went by till one day Muhammad asked me: “And so when do we talk about Baptism?” I told him that this meant going through catechesis. I also told him that I’ll think about it.

I talked to other priests who have greater experience with this and they told me to speak to the bishop who, in turn, told me that he would meet the young man when things were further along.

Because my frequent travels prevented me from seeing Muhammad on a regular basis, I spoke to a lay friend, a man with four kids who is a volunteer in a parish church, who agreed to accompany the young man as he received the catechesis. I would still provide him spiritual guidance. [. . .]

My catechist friend introduced Muhammad to other Christians to give him a better idea of the Christian community. One of the problems with converts is that they feel like social and cultural outsiders to the Christian community. Muhammad was appreciative but still a bit standoffish.

I asked him one day if he had any problems with his neighbors since he lived in a largely Muslim environment. “Sometimes. Once, an acquaintance found the Bible in my room. Since then I keep it in a place where it can’t be easily found.”

He is being watched too because he let out some critical comments about Islam.

I told him to be prudent when he speaks but he said that he was making the right choice as far as his faith was concerned and was not prepared to be silent about it even if he had to suffer the consequences for it.
Muhammad comes from a practicing Muslin family but like “many other students” he does not pray five times a day. He would like to change his neighborhood so as to be free to pray and practice his faith but can’t afford to do it.

My catechist friend told him to start mentioning what he was doing to his relatives. Since he couldn’t go and visit them, he talked to them on the phone. It was a catastrophe. He was really sad the next day when he came to see me.

My catechist friend had told him to be cautious and discrete about his new faith. He had told him to continue living like a Muslim but with Christ in his heart. But Muhammad objected to that. “I can’t go back now!” he had said. He probably knows he can’t go back to his family.
On Christmas Night he told me: “At last, I want to go to church”. An hour before midnight he went inside, the vast nave still except for the sounds of Christmas carols floating in the background.

Eventually, people started slowly making their way into the building. He sat near the crèche and that is where he had his First Mass.

“In all my life I have never felt so close to God as today!” he said.

I am convinced that Muhammad really sought this out, a desire swelling from the bottom of his heart. And he found it in Christ. Now he is waiting for Easter Night, the night when he takes the last steps.

*PIME – Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions

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