Cambodia’s Catholic Church has submitted nearly 2,500 pages of testimony and historical material to the Vatican, advancing the cause for 12 martyrs whose lives and records were nearly erased during the Khmer Rouge regime.
Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, Apostolic Vicar of Phnom Penh, presented the sealed documents to Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, during the ad limina visit of the bishops of Laos and Cambodia in Rome.
He said the dossier contains “a precious testimony of faith, courage, and love” and recounts “the heroic journey of these men and women in Cambodia between 1970 and 1977.”
“These documents not only record their lives and their sacrifice, but they are also a priceless spiritual heritage for the Church and the world,” he told Fides News Agency.
The diocesan inquiry opened in 2015. Since then, Church leaders and researchers have worked to rebuild a historical record that the Khmer Rouge tried to destroy. Churches were burned, archives disappeared, and many witnesses were killed or displaced.
The postulator, Father Paul Chatserey, said the team “armed ourselves with patience and began to collect oral testimonies” because written records had been lost during the “dark years of the war and the Khmer Rouge.”
He said the work advanced slowly, supported by survivors’ memories and by documents preserved in the archives of the Society for Foreign Missions in Paris. “Thus, the work grew slowly and with difficulty, and finally, after years of work, study, and research, we succeeded in gathering enough material to advance the process for Bishop Salas and eleven companions.”
The cause includes Bishop Joseph Chhmar Salas and eleven priests, religious, and laypeople. Bishop Schmitthaeusler said Bishop Yves Ramousse, who knew many of them personally, helped compile the initial list. He described the group as representing “the richness of the People of God.”
He added that he hopes “the examination and discernment may continue so that these martyrs may soon be presented to the universal Church as a gift and a shining witness.”
Father Chatserey said the effort to recover the martyrs’ stories began with Pope John Paul II’s call in the Jubilee Year 2000 for Asian churches to recognize their witnesses of faith. The pope had said: “These servants of God […] form a great fresco of Christian humanity […] It is the fresco of the Beatitudes, lived to the point of shedding blood.”
In response, the Cambodian Church built a memorial cross and a small shrine, and it now gathers believers each year to remember the martyrs. “Gradually, awareness grew, and we began to collect materials, documents, and testimonies,” Father Chatserey said.
He said the cause has become a source of strength for a community still healing from genocide. “Now, our Church in Cambodia rejoices. The spirituality and inspiration of the martyrs are of great importance; they are a great encouragement to us.”
As the Vatican begins its examination, the Church plans to deepen public awareness of the martyrs’ lives, especially among young people.
“We will continue to raise awareness, especially among young people, of the story of our martyrs by publishing brochures and organizing cultural, catechetical, and prayer events,” Father Chatserey said. “We hope and pray that their example will bear fruit and bring grace and holiness to our small Church for the future.”
