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The Catholic presence in Cambodia is quite small. There are fewer than 10,000 Cambodian Catholics in a population of 16,000,000 people. Officialdom here has noted the death of Pope Francis, though. Today, on behalf of Bishop Olivier, the bishop of Phnom Penh, I posted to social media and websites three letters of condolence from King Sihomani and from the present and former prime ministers.
The caption above says Cambodia is not leaning toward China and away from the USA.
But look at the captions of these other four pictures which were beside the first picture in one photo spread. Every one of them emphasizes China’s dominant relationship with Cambodia.
They speak of international cooperation, an ironclad shared future with China, vital cooperation with China, a major railway infrastructure project funded by China, and cooperation with China in a digital economy.
China’s Premier Xi Jin Ping was in Cambodia last week speaking of all these things (after first visiting Vietnam and Malaysia). At the same time, the US government was attacking China economically and cutting off trade and imposing tariffs. IMHO China doesn’t need to win the war with the US because the US has decided to lose the war.
[All the photos come from the Khmer Times, a local English newspaper.]
We began the Triduum liturgies this evening with our Good Friday service.
This evening we began what the church calls the Triduum, the three days that mark the Last Supper and then the sufferings, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It is really one liturgical celebration spread over three days.
Most of the people leave the city for the rural provinces during the new year festival but before they go many groups and business set up a traditional display that showcases Cambodia’s rural roots and parts of the culture that still exist, like fish traps, straw hats, woven baskets, etc. They mark the holiday while all the people are gone!
We began our celebration of Holy Week last night with a liturgy at St. Jude Thaddeus School’s hall which we use on Saturdays. It is not an environment conducive to a good liturgical ambiance but it is what we have.
