ASIA/CAMBODIA - Mercy and fraternity: Pope Francis' legacy in Cambodia

Phnom Penh ( Fides Agency) - Being “apostles of mercy and of the heart of Christ”; being and living the Church “as a space of reconciliation for all.” These are some of the evangelical seeds planted by Pope Francis in the fertile soil of Cambodia, a small country in Southeast Asia, predominantly Buddhist, where the Catholic community numbers about 30,000 faithful out of the country's 17 million inhabitants, divided into three ecclesiastical districts: one apostolic vicariate and two apostolic prefectures.
“We have welcomed more than fifty delegations here in our church in Phnom Penh who wanted to show us their affection and closeness after the Pope's death: members of the royal government of Cambodia, ambassadors, Buddhist religious leaders,” Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, Apostolic Vicar of Phnom Penh, told Fides. ”They all came to pay their last respects to a pope they had never met, but whose image as a pastor had left a deep impression on them. Of course, the members of our Catholic community prayed and continue to pray unceasingly. The people of God in Cambodia join the universal Church in thanking Pope Francis for his work and continue to pray for him, as he himself often asked.”
“His motto 'miserando atque eligendo' (Latin for 'chosen out of mercy'), meaning chosen because he was a forgiven sinner, is certainly the key to understanding his pontificate,” said the Apostolic Vicar. ”And today, it must keep us alert, as he often used to tell us. To young people, he would say: Don't stay on the couch, don't retire early. He reminds us all and the world of the painful issues of war, exclusion, the culture of waste, indifference towards the little ones. We have accepted his invitation to see the Church as a 'field hospital,'” he notes.
Regarding the legacy left by Pope Francis in Cambodia, the bishop said: “We appreciate the mission of being apostles of mercy and the heart of Christ. We experienced this during the Year of Mercy, but also now, in the Holy Year of Hope: the Church is a place of reconciliation for all.” He also recalls that “the call to be disciples and missionaries of the joy of the Gospel for all people, as written in Evangelii gaudium, the first text of the pontificate, echoes within us.” In Cambodia, where Catholics are a small flock in a Buddhist country, the approach of “making ourselves brothers and sisters to all, especially the poorest, without forgetting our mother earth, the care for our common home, is particularly important. The encyclicals Laudato si' and Fratelli tutti have given us valuable guidelines,” he notes. Cambodian believers have also ”greatly appreciated the invitation to be artisans of peace, beginning with their lives at home, in their families, in their villages, in the nation, and throughout the world, by opening the door of mercy in the heart of each person.”
Finally, Bishop Schmitthaeusler said, “I would like to remind you of the call to sharpen our gaze in order to recognize the ‘saints next door,’ as stated in the Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate. And here, his appeal at the very beginning of his pontificate greatly encouraged us, when he recalled the martyrs of Cambodia and praised the faith, courage, and perseverance of our shepherds and predecessors.”
The Apostolic Vicar quotes a passage from the Acts of the Apostles: “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk!” (Acts 3:6). And he concludes: “Are not these words of Peter to the paralytic the heart of the message of the 266th successor of Peter? Today, during this Easter season, we feel that these words of the Gospel are addressed precisely to us, the small Church of Cambodia, which is called to live communion, participation, and mission in a synodal spirit, so that we may all journey together toward the hope that is the risen Jesus Christ. And we now ask Pope Francis to pray for us.”
(PA) ( Fides Agency 1/5/2025)

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