The Church in Cambodia is recovering after decades of struggle following the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, according to one of the country's Catholic bishops.
Cambodia is a mainly (95 per cent) Buddhist country with Christian, Muslim and indigenous religion minorities. The Khmer Rouge Communists under Pol Pot massacred a quarter of the population during its four-year rule from 1975-1979, around 1.7 million people. Christians were among other groups specifically targed and many were killed or fled the country; the Khmer Rouge had a policy of state atheism.
According to Msgr Enrique Figaredo, Bishop of Battambang: "The war, Pol Pot's revolution swept everyone away. Bishops, religious women, and catechists were killed. The community was razed to virtually nothing. Many of the surviving Catholics never had any hope for peace in their country, and they had to emigrate to the United States, France, Europe, and Japan. Very few people stayed behind."
Before the war there were around 170,000 Catholics – by far the largest Christian community – in the country. There are now around 20,000, but this has risen substantially from the lowest point.
Quoted by Rome Reports, Figaredo said: "When we arrived, the community was completely dispersed. In the refugee camps a lot of pastoral work has already been done, very good work, but after the return of many, we created new communities with the refugees that came back. When I was named apostolic prefect we had 14 communities. Now we have 28, and they are larger and more active than before."
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