Cambodian Faithful Pay Tribute to Victims of civil war, referring them as ‘Martyrs’

On June 17, 3,000 Cambodian Catholics, bishops, and Monsignors from three dioceses, including 60 priests, participated in the celebration honoring victims of the civil war who sacrificed their lives for the faith.

The event occurred in the Taing Kok Church in the Taing Kok district in Kampong Thom province, in the center of Cambodia, about 100 kilometers from Phnom Penh’s capital.

Since 2000, after the civil war's end and the country's restoration of peace, the Catholic Church in Cambodia has observed this anniversary to honor those who sacrificed their lives for the faith.

Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, the apostolic vicar of Phnom Penh, stated in his sermon that a mainland is a holy place because it contains two sacred objects: the bed, which is the living bed on which Joseph Chhmar Salas, the Khmer bishop of Cambodia, celebrated Mass until he died in 1976.

The bed is now kept in the territory of the Taing Kok Church, where Bishop Joseph Chhmar Salas and his companions were evacuated from Phnom Penh by Khmer Rouge targets and are living. This bed was kept to honor and commemorate those who offered Mass and died or were killed during the Khmer Rouge regime.

According to resources, Chhmar Salas and his companions, including Father Joseph Chhmar Salem, his younger brother, and Father Truoeng Samreun, lived and offered Mass every day by hiding themselves from the eyes of the Khmer Rouge spies.

Bishop Schmitthaeusler added that the second item was a necklace cross passed from bishop to bishop over many generations.

The necklace cross was handed over to the bishop of Cambodia for six generations, made of gold, and passed on to bishop Joseph Chhmar Salas during his episcopal ordination on April 14, 1975, three days before the Khmer Rouge regime started. 

The former Khmer bishop kept it under a chicken coop to avoid the Khmer Rouge's eyes, who called themselves "Angkar." After his death, his mother kept it and handed it over to bishop Emile Detombe, and today it is with bishop Schmitthaeusler.

Bishop Schmitthaeusler emphasized that we believe that when the two objects meet, Emmanuel has mercy on us, guiding us to peace, instructing us to have the strength to know that it is a gift from God; the Lord is with us.

The bishop reminded the faithful to remember the words of God: "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will also be. If anyone serves Me, My Father will honor him."

The Bible guides us as servants of God to receive new life with Him, said the bishop, and it is a time to give thanks to God on the land of the martyrs who guide the Church to live.

Mr. Prich Chun, 50, said he was delighted to attend this event for the first time today. He added that he was very proud that the Catholic Church in Cambodia had a bishop and priests, who helped protect the parish during that time.

He added that the example and blood of the Servants of God help inspire our Catholic faith.

He said that at first, he thought that only foreigners who believed in God could be martyrs, but now we have a Cambodian bishop who seems to be urging Catholics in Cambodia to have stronger faith and to give their whole lives to God.

Huot Heang, a 69-year-old from Kampong Cham province, said today's program reminded her about God's call for us to be martyrs, that God is with us, and that He always blesses us.

Heang said that the story of the Servants of God who died during the Pol Pot regime brought tears to her eyes, remembering how the faithful kept their faith at that time.

"There were priests, brothers, and sisters; Lay people were hiding from the eyes of the Angkar to receive the Body of Christ as a sign that God is always with us, no matter the circumstances." Ms. Heang added

The Catholic Church in Cambodia has prepared documents and set up a committee for the Martyrs Tribunal to compile relevant documents for those who died in the faith under the Pol Pot genocidal regime from 1975–1979.

During the three years, eight months, and 20 days of the regime, Cambodia was destroyed in terms of national, religious, and human resources.

The Catholic Church and other religions have been devastated, and many Catholics and clergy have been killed, including nearly 2 million Cambodians.

Father Paul Roeung Chatsirey, a postulator of Martyrs Committees, said that at present, 14 people are studying and researching the resume and compiling documents to submit to the Vatican to become martyrs of Cambodia, which includes seven priests and religious, two nuns, one bishop and one monsignor, and three laities.- RVA Khmer News Service