Author: Charles Dittmeier

Tangkok Pilgrimage

During the Pol Pot era, many Catholics were killed by the Khmer Rouge. Some of them have been proposed to the church as actual modern martyrs. Every year the Church of Cambodia has a celebration at Tangkok where there is a shrine to the martyrs. It has been reported that next year, Pope Francis will officially canonize martyrs from Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.

These photos are from yesterday’s ceremony in Tangkok.

Singapore Visitors

Today a group from the Singapore Wesley deaf program came to DDP for a visit. Half of them have been to DDP before and it was good to see them again, catch up on what’s happening, and do some planning for the future.

The Singapore group with the DDP management team.
The president of the Singapore group leading a prayer at the end.
A final shot as they prepared to leave and head for a workshop in Kampot.

Deaf Leadership Training

Colin Allen is leading a deaf leadership training program at the Deaf Development Programme, with a goal of establishing a national deaf association. Colin is away for two months now but the training continues, led by the team he prepared.

Another Farewell

Today Benjamin Jerome, Sheila, and their son Isaiah left Phnom Penh for a new job and a new home in Laos. They have been a very active part of our English Catholic Community for the past nine years helping with coffee and doughnuts, serving as lector, communion minister, and altar server, and just contributing to the life of our group in so many ways. We will miss them. May God truly bless them in this new stage of their lives.

Priests Retreat–Day 3

Fr. Miguel, the retreat master, and Bishop Kike working on a computer glitch.

The priests of Cambodia gathered for a liturgy in the parish church. (I don’t know why so many of the guys feel the need to dress up in albs and stoles–an indication of clericalism to me.)
Me with a group of Jesuits after one of the talks. The Jesuits have a REALLY good presence here in Cambodia with some REALLY good men.

Priests Retreat–Day 2

The two retreat talks each day are presented in this large hall at the edge of the property. This year the hall has new doors that enclose the room and air conditioning has been added.
Fr. Miguel, a Jesuit priest who has spent the last 50+ years in Thailand, is leading our retreat.
The liturgy on the first full day was organized by the Kampong Cham priests.

Priests Retreat — Day 1

Today about 60 priests from Cambodia gathered at the Catholic center in Sihanoukville on the coast for a week of retreat.

Four of us drove down together but before we left Phnom Penh we had lunch at an NGO restaurant where we ran into some lay missioners.
Arriving at the center at St. Michael Church, our group checked the room list to see which building they would sleep in.
At 5:30 PM we had a short opening ceremony which featured a musical group composed of quite young children who played traditional instruments and danced.
The three bishops and retreat leader and our host priests sat at a head table for the music and dancing and introductions.
The young women in black and white are students from the food and beverage training program at the Salesian school where I have mass on Monday mornings. They are getting practical experience working this retreat.

Royal Plowing Day

Today King Sihomani attended the annual royal plowing ceremony in Kampong Speu Province. The ceremony, held at the beginning of the rainy season, is to predict the fortunes of various agricultural crops in Cambodia.

First two oxen make three plowing trips across the designated field, attended by royal officials.

Then the oxen were led to seven platters with various foods, to see which they would choose. Today the oxen favored rice, corn, and soybeans indicating to the officials that those crops will be bountiful this year. The other offerings placed before the oxen were sesame, grass, water, and wine.

[Now you know! If you want to invest in Cambodian soybean futures, now is the time!]

[Photos are from the Khmer Times.]