ASIA/CAMBODIA - The Catechism of the Catholic Church in cambodian: A Gift for the Year of Faith

Phnom Penh (Agenzia Fides) - The Catechism of the Catholic Church has been translated into Cambodian and "will be a valuable tool for all communities and associations of the faithful to deepen the contents of the 'Creed' and of Catholic doctrine, in the Year of the Faith ": says to Fides Agency the Apostolic Vicar of Phnom Penh, His Exc. Mgr. Olivier Schmitthaeusler, MEP, at the conclusion of the Congress organized by the Apostolic Vicariate for the Year of Faith, on" The Second Vatican Council and the Church." The participants of the Congress, which ended yesterday, also listened to a video message sent by the Holy Father Benedict XVI to encourage Christians in Cambodia that, in doing so, "they feel they are truly part of the universal Church."
On the occasion of the Congress documents of the II Vatican translated into Khmer language were also presented: a "resource for meditation, deepening and study" that will help one to understand how the Khmer Church is part of the post-conciliar dynamic. The Bishop reported that the local community has chosen, in particular, this year to reflect on the document Lumen Gentium, to remind the faithful "the Church as the People of God, the faithful called to holiness."
The Catechism in Khmer language, on the other hand, will be a valuable tool for evangelization. The Bishop explained that the Cambodian Church, which represents 1% of the population in a country where 96% are Buddhist, "is experiencing again the time of the Acts of the Apostles, with a first proclamation of the Good News" and is "a laboratory of evangelization in a Buddhist world." The Vicar, during the Congress, stressed the two significant points for the new evangelization, referring to the situation of the Church in Cambodia, persecuted at the time of the Khmer Rouge: forgiveness and commitment of the laity. "The real encounter with Jesus Christ - he said - opens the heart to love and experience of forgiveness, to lead to the discovery of the gift of life," and "the laity are the apostles of this announcement", active members of a Church which is appreciated in the nation because "it touches the heart, it is simple, friendly, prayerful and joyful." (PA) (Agenzia Fides 07/01/2013)