Synthesis on Phnom Penh Vicariate Answers’ for the Synod of 2021-2023
More than 200 people from Phnom Penh Vicariate joined together at Phnom Penh Vicariate Pastoral Center located in Phnom Penh City on 14 May 2022 to submit their answers for diocesan synthesis to the Synod of Bishops of 2021-2023 with the theme “Communion, Participation, Mission”.
Bishop Olivier, Apostolic Vicar of Phnom Penh said that the purpose of the gathering was to submit our comments and ideas for a Synodal Church. It is a time to listen to the answers of parishioners, church leaders, religious congregations, lay missionaries, vicariate offices as well catholic NGOs to reflect on how to journey together, with the joy and challenges of proclaiming the Good news together. The Bishop stressed that those challenges could become a pastoral plan for the Phnom Penh Vicariate.
On October 17, 2021, according to the call of Pope Francis for all Catholic dioceses in the world to discuss synodality, Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, Apostolic Vicar of Phnom Penh officially opened the Synodal Process but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, gathering were limited 50 people; 2 representatives were chosen from each of nine pastoral sectors, religious communities, Catholic NGOs and other offices.
After the opening ceremony, Bishop Schmitthaeusler sent these 3 questions to all the missions in the Phnom Penh Vicariate:
1. How is this journey together happening today?
2. What joy does it bring? What difficulty and obstacle have we encountered?
3. In our experience or journeying together in our own community, what are the points to be changed, to be converted for the proclamation of the Gospel to our brothers and sisters?
From March to April 2022, each of the nine pastoral sectors gathered together with priests and parishioners, religious congregations, catholic associations to reflect on the 3 questions.
On Friday 13 May 2022, during the meeting of the Presbyterium, the priests and directors of Youth Office, Catechesis office and Social Communication office collected all the answers to prepare a synthesis to be discussed in general assembly with all the delegates of the Vicariate on Saturday 14 May 2023.
On Saturday 14 May 2022, more than 200 Catholic representatives, missionaries, clergy, catholic institutions and offices in the diocese reviewed and summarized all the answers together and solemnly handed over their report to His Excellency Bishop Olivier, Apostolic Vicar of Phnom Penh during a solemn Eucharist on the feast of Saint Matthias.
After listening to the various answers given by the parishioners, Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler said in his homily that who present today the the delegates of the individual churches were ambassadors called to be the voice, ears and mouth of each place so that the ideas shared on that day would reach the whole of Phnom Penh Vicariate.
Accordingly, Catholic people are called to be close friends of Jesus. This is a special gift from God. Jesus’s close friends live in different ways as the disciples in the society. “My command is that you love each other as I had loved you.” (John 14), the bishop quoted. As the Church, we are walking together, reflecting on how to proclaim the Good News! The answer is: Love each other because God loves us!
Bishop Olivier insisted that our joy is a “gift of life”. The life that we receive from God, is a special gift that we received at our baptism and from the sacrament of Eucharist and Reconciliation through which we are a new people in Christ. The life that we receive on earth is to prepare us for Eternal Life.
Bishop Schmitthaeusler remarked that we also heard about sorrow. The sad history of Cambodia during the Civil War and Pol Pot Regime meant that for about 20 years, we did not have priests or any religious brothers and sisters. This persecution cut the road of passing faith to the next generation. It is a challenge as almost all Khmer Catholics today are the first new generation of believers!
The Bishop said that “this suffering also becomes our strength”. Today we can see the first generation of our brothers and sisters who will have children and grandchildren and they will transmit their faith, which is the hope of the church nowadays.
The Bishop continued that another concern is how to proclaim the Good News far and wide on this motherland of Cambodian people in their own language, culture and tradition.
According to the 3rd question, “how to proclaim the good news by walking together?”, twelve mains keys of understanding were listed:
1. Personal Conversion
2. Catechesis and on-going formation
3. Charity in Action
4. Communion and Unity among our communities (Khmers and Vietnamese), more effort of the missionaries to be reborn in Cambodia
5. Pastoral Care of the Families
6. Integral Education through our schools
7. Improvement of our Social Communications means
8. Strength our Inter-Religion Dialogue
9. Integral Ecological conversion
10. Catholic identity
11. Community decision-making and collaboration
12. Walking together to find New Ways to proclaim the Good News
Sorn Meak, a Catechism teacher from the Takeo Pastoral sector, said that this gathering was very meaningful for our Catholic life. The Church means we are one family, we are brothers and sisters, and we walk and act our faith together, which makes us feel warm.
Sorn continued that this meeting gave us an opportunity to listen to our brothers and sisters who share their love. “Our Church will grow if we act on what we have been told and what we have shared in faith today,” he said.
Kanha Khun from Child Jesus church In Phnom Penh said that this synod helps Catholic people to walk together, to grow up and move forward smoothly. She said that “It helps me to get a variety of ideas to develop the way that we can do together in our parish.”
She added that “previously, we knew some difficulties of other Catholics and today we get more information about joy, challenges, and how to develop to move the Church forward.”
Bishop Olivier acknowledged that the result of this gathering is not only for the action plan of the Church in Phnom Penh Vicariate but for the universal church to reflect on how to evangelize people. He said that this document will be sent to Episcopal Conference of Laos and Cambodia (CELAC) and then submitted to Rome.
