Persecution: It’s real…

Yesterday one of our Pakistani refugees here in Cambodia was able to go to Japan where he hopes to start a new life. Our St. Vincent de Paul Society in the English parish has been working with ten families who have fled religious persecution in Pakistan, and Saturday night we got two more newly arrived families. There is a limit to what we can do. In the past two weeks I have been asked for $46,000+ for refugee needs. We just don’t have that. The persecution is real, though, and people are fleeing for their lives.

Relics of Modern Saints

St. Theresa of Lisieux is one of the most popular saints in the Catholic Church and her parents are also official saints. The relics of the parents–Louis and ZĂ©lie Martin–were brought to the Saturday evening liturgy of the English community by Bishop Olivier. Click here to see photographs from this visit.

The Martin Relics

The Diocese of Phnom Penh is in the middle of a three-year focus on families and family life and Bishop Olivier connected that theme with the bringing of the relics of the parents of St. Theresa of Lisieux to Cambodia. Today was a family day celebration at which the bishop (behind the yellow table) addressed those attending
The relics are contained in the metal receptacle enclosed under the heavy plastic cover. A photo of Louis and Zelie Martin, Theresa’s parents, is at right.

School visit to church

Three groups of students from ASEAN International School went to the Church of the Child Jesus in Boeung Tum Pun this week to learn about what Catholics believe and practice. Almost all the students were Buddhist and this was their first time in a Catholic Church. I explained our basic beliefs and then showed them around the church and answered their questions.