Author: Charles Dittmeier

Nuncio in Cambodia

This week saw the arrival of Archbishop Peter Wells in Cambodia. He is the newly appointed nuncio (ambassador) from the Vatican to Cambodia. Yesterday he had a liturgy and dinner with lay and religious leaders of church organizations. He is from Tulsa, Oklahoma so he and I had a common bond.

Today the nuncio and his assistant, Bishop Daniel (L), met with all the priests of the diocese of Phnom Penh for discussion of his role and for answering questions we asked. It was off the record and was a useful forum for exploring issues like the Vatican’s role in seeking peace in Ukraine and Pope Francis’ seeking negotiations with Patriarch Kiril in Russia and other topics.

Tape it!

How many rolls of tape do you think it took to secure a van load of vegetables for the trip to Phnom Penh? I would think there would be a cheaper, more efficient way keep the load together but maybe it’s the best, most reliable way they have found and the price of tape is just the cost of doing business.

The King and He

The new Vatican nuncio (ambassador) to Cambodia is Archbishop Peter Bryan Wells who is from Tulsa, Oklahoma in the United States. Today he met with King Sihomani at the royal palace to present his credentials.

I think I would be happy with a little less of the fancy dress and diplomatic niceties on the part of the church. We could probably carry out the mission of Jesus of loving each other without all that.

Poor Workmanship

When the budget cuts took effect at the Deaf Development Programme, we put up a small office and classroom building to eliminate the high rent we were paying. The building was behind schedule but it turned out OK–except for the floor. The workmen did a terrible job, leaving us with a real mess.

The floor had large areas of discoloration, paint drippings, and even started to disintegrate in spots after a week or two. I kept thinking the contractor would come back and do something but it soon became apparent he considered that job finished.

[To be continued]

Deacon Ordination

Today, Seminarian Nguyen Do Thanh (standing at left by window) was ordained a deacon, the first sacramental step toward becoming a priest. He is part of the Jesuit community here in Cambodia.

It’s part of the job…

As in so many other cities around the world, the Covid pandemic created an army of delivery people, perfect employment–except for the low income!–in a society that is built on motorcycles. This evening a heavy downpour was drenching Phnom Penh, making it more difficult for this driver to confirm his delivery destination.

May Lay Missioner Meeting

Every month lay missioners from many different sending groups and different countries meet in a support group in Phnom Penh.

In the meeting today, Maryknoll Sister Regina Pellicore gave a reflection on the rosary. It was both interesting and substantive because most people just start saying the rosary as children and no one ever explains or discusses how to pray with it.

The lay missioners gathered today came from eight different countries.

Maria Montello worked out an activity, actually making individual rosaries as part of a prayer together. The activity was followed by a dinner prepared by Maria and Kila Reimer.

AMD Testing

This is Dr. Long Chhour, an eye specialist, who has been testing and treating me for Age-related Macular Degeneration in my left eye. AMD in my case causes a fuzziness to appear in my central vision in that eye. The electronic unit is for testing with Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). I have been lucky to find Dr. Chhour in Phnom Penh.

These are the OCT test results. The shallow part of the green curve indicates degeneration of the macula. It is a really interesting testing procedure.