Catholic Church in Cambodia

The Catholic Church in Cambodia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. Throughout the Church's history in Cambodia, the majority of Catholics that have lived in the country consisted of ethnically Vietnamese people; in 2005, around two-thirds of the total number of Catholics in Cambodia were Vietnamese.[1][2]

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History
The Catholic church in Chong Knies

The first known Christian mission in Cambodia was undertaken by Gaspar da Cruz, a Portuguese member of the Dominican Order, in 1555–1556. According to his own account, the enterprise was a complete failure; he found the country run by a "Bramene" king and "Bramene" officials, and discovered that "the Bramenes are the most difficult people to convert". He felt that no one would dare to convert without the King's permission, and left the country in disappointment, not having "baptized more than one gentile whom I left in the grave".[3] Despite the French colonization in the 19th century, Christianity made little impact in the country.

20th century

The first native Cambodian priest, Simon Chhem Yen, was ordained in 1957, with Paul Tep Im Sotha and Joseph Chhmar Salas following in 1959 and 1964 respectively. Before the repatriation of the Vietnamese in 1970 and 1971, possibly as many as 62,000 Christians lived in Cambodia. According to Vatican statistics, in 1953, members of the Catholic Church in Cambodia numbered 120,000, making it at the time, the second largest religion, estimates indicate that about 50,000 Catholics were Vietnamese.

Large numbers of Vietnamese Catholics emigrated upon the start of Lon Nol's military junta (the Khmer Republic) in 1970, with Cambodia's major seminary closed indefinitely, though Catholics in general were tolerated by the government.[4][5] In 1972 there were approximately about 20,000 Christians in Cambodia, most of whom were Catholics, and many of them were Europeans-chiefly French and Eurasians of French descent.[6] From 1975 to 1979 however, the communist rule of the Khmer Rouge nearly extinguished Catholicism in the country; two-thirds of the remaining Catholics in Cambodia perished in forced labor camps,[4] including Salas, while others were executed for indiscriminate reasons, such as Sotha.

Gradual revival

In 1989, the new constitution of the Vietnamese-occupied Cambodia allowed freedom of religion, although the preaching of Christianity was still forbidden by the Council of Ministers. In March 1990, the Cambodian government gave its approval for a group of Catholics to celebrate Easter Sunday, the first public worship in Cambodia in 15 years.[7]

In 1990, efforts were made to restart the seminary within the refugee camps of Khmer people in Thailand, and by next year the seminary was officially reinstated; teachings were delivered entirely in the Khmer language for the first time in the Cambodian Church's history.[5] In 1992, the seminary was transferred to Cambodia in the city of Battambang by four seminarians and Fr. Bernard Dupraz, the latter renting a private house for use.[5] As the city lacked many items needed for the seminarians' training, they had to retrieve educational materials covertly provided in sacks by Fr. Francois Ponchaud and Sr. Gilberte Masson at the Thai border without alerting guards.[5] On 6 July the same year, Yves Ramousse was appointed vicar apostolic of Phnom Penh, and five months later was also appointed apostolic administrator of Battambang.

Bishop Ramousse later recounted how Dupraz in 1993 managed to purchase the land previously occupied by the Battambang Parish before 1970, and had the responsibility of rebuilding the Church while being the lone priest in an area one-third the size of Cambodia.[5] The seminarians had to act almost like vicars to Dupraz as they continued their training, being sent to remote areas of the country such as Serei Saophoan and Siem Reap to produce reports about their situations.[5] In October 1998, the seminary was moved to Phnom Penh and officially named the St. John Mary Vianney Major Seminary, as chosen by the seminarians.[5]

By July 1995, Pierre Sophal Tonlop became the first native Cambodian to be ordained a priest in more than 20 years.[8][9] Four more followed in December 2001, all of whom came from the major seminary established in 1991.[5]

Statistics

Estimates vary as to the actual number of Catholics in Cambodia. According to Ramousse, there are around 20,000 Catholics in Cambodia by 2015, or 0.15% of the total population.[5] Peter Ford of The Diplomat, however, wrote that the number has reached 75,000 by 2017.[2] There are no dioceses, but there are three territorial jurisdictions – one Apostolic Vicariate and two Apostolic Prefectures.

References
  1. Post Staff (25 March 2005). "Vanquished in the 70s, Catholic Church still on the mend". The Phnom Penh Post. Post Media Co. Ltd. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  2. Ford, Peter (14 March 2017). "Cambodia, Catholicism, and Cauliflower". The Diplomat. Kien Svay District, Cambodia: Diplomat Media Inc. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  3. Boxer, Charles Ralph; Pereira, Galeote; Cruz, Gaspar da; Rada, Martín de (1953), South China in the sixteenth century: being the narratives of Galeote Pereira, Fr. Gaspar da Cruz, O.P. (and) Fr. Martín de Rada, O.E.S.A. (1550–1575), Issue 106 of Works issued by the Hakluyt Society, Printed for the Hakluyt Society, pp. lix, 59–63
  4. Hinh, Thien-Huong (2017). Race, Gender, and Religion in the Vietnamese Diaspora: The New Chosen People. Palgrave MacMillan. p. 110. ISBN 978-3-319-57168-3. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  5. Senechal, Vincent Yves. "Priestly Formation in the Asian Contexts: Application of the Church's Teachings to the Church and the Society in Cambodia" (PDF). Catholic Theology and Thought (Special): 145–153. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  6. "Church in Cambodia". UCA News. ucanews.com. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  7. Post Staff (25 March 2005). "Vanquished in the 70s, Catholic Church still on the mend". The Phnom Penh Post. Post Media Co Ltd. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  8. "Cambodians See First Religious Profession in 20 Years". UCA News. Union of Catholic Asian News Limited. 12 September 1996. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  9. "Ordination d'un évêque coadjuteur à Phnom Penh". Missions Éntrangères de Paris (in French). 18 March 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
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