"In Svay Pak, the word of God hangs over the brothels."
In 1999, he celebrated Mass at Svay Pak, in the district brothels on the outskirts of the capital.
initiator of a training program for farm-scale Takeo, this Alsatian priest of 39 years will be ordained bishop of Phnom Penh
next March. While forbidding proselytism, he wants to leave the door open to sincere conversion.
At the wheel of his Honda CRV, Olivier Schmitthaeusler brakes suddenly to avoid a dog lying beside the road. "My car was so much dust you can not see even more," he smiles. Every week, he commutes between Phnom Penh and Takeo. And his parish Chomkartieng, is fifteen miles of track and Angtasom Institute St. Paul, large modern building opened last October to accommodate 120 students in agriculture and 80 computers. "On Christmas Day, the Prime Minister
signed the sub-decree recognizing the Institute, says the father Oliver. Meanwhile, Pope Benedict 16 announced my appointment as bishop. "So in a few months, his car broken to ride Phnom Penh-Takeo will roam throughout the vicariate is to say seven provinces plus the city of Phnom Penh. Behind the windshield, he will keep his password "VIP", obtained for him by the family of a of his parishioners. But he will abandon his garden, his little house with a solar panel and quiet of his rural parish to take up residence at the palace in Phnom Penh.
At 39, Olivier Schmitthaeusler will become, March 20, the third-youngest bishop in the world. Born in Strasbourg, the eldest in a family of four, he entered the seminary upon obtaining his degree. In 1991, he made his cooperation in Osaka, Japan. In 1998, just ordained, he is sent to Cambodia. After a year of learning, it is able to celebrate Mass in Khmer, it is particularly in Svay Pak (or "kilometer 11"), a district on the outskirts of Phnom Penh at the time known for its brothels. At first, when he arrived at the church on his motorcycle, took the girls for a client.
He said Mass at the microphone, the voice to reach outside the church by loudspeaker.
In this period, Father Olivier has not kept much, except that the Catholic community there was "very dynamic". Her attention was quickly brought to the parish of Chomkartieng in Takeo province. "At first there was only one named. remembers there. He had a cousin seminarian, and one day he sold a cow to buy a motorbike to go every Sunday, listen to the catechism in Phnom Penh.Il was six hours away for that ... "
Aujourd ' Today, the Catholic community of the village of 97 people.
Olivier Schmitthaeusler denies doing baptisms for the channel: "There is a long way before the conversion: the villagers participate initially for three years in parish activities, then follow the catechism for two years ... "
Proselytizing? The priest does not like that word. "This is a negative concept ... But I am not ashamed to proclaim the gospel. In high school, we offer meals to students, and there is a prayer before. They pray for whomever they want ... At the Institute, the chapel is a building apart, visible without being aggressive. At Christmas, we explain the meaning of the festival we organize. The proposal is made, but people feel free. "This Friday, when he celebrated Mass before about thirty students of the Institute, Olivier Schmitthaeusler shall, before preparing the hosts, how many people want to communicate. Only about twenty of them raise their hands. "Among those attending the Mass, there are some who are not Catholic, they come simply to see ..." he notes.
This facility, which can accommodate up to 600 students, is intended to diversify the courses offered. The Royal School of Agriculture issues already graduating students from the school sector in St. Paul. The Institute's library is among the six largest in the country by area, and students can put their knowledge into practice on a field of 70 hectares near Kep, which are cultivated for rice, maize, fruit trees and sweet potatoes. The major work has been funded with the help of a donor Singapore, met during a tour to raise funds.
A baby named Oliver
At Chomkartieng, the strong personality of the priest can explain the rapid development of the community. A young Christian the
greet her baby in her arms. She called Olivier, as he did. Behind the stairs, he placarded the institutional values :
"responsibility, honesty, solidarity. In the headmaster's office, the portraits of King Norodom Sihamoni rub a large painting of St. Francis.
A little later, the students play soccer, each wearing a jersey of the France team. Behind stands a CheyDei, large yellow and red
stupa surrounded by bamboo and topped with a cross.
"That's where I'll be buried," says Olivier Schmitthaeusler.
For now, it only contains the ashes of one person, the first Christian of the parish to be dead.
relations with Buddhists are good, he says:
"We regularly visit during ceremonies ... We have more contact with them than with the evangelists. The dialogue between religions, however, remained "a dialogue of life", informal, and is rarely on matters of faith. "At Christmas, we went with Buddhists in Kampot prison to visit prisoners ... It also allows local religious leaders to meet," he says.
Between March and August, Olivier Schmitthaeusler Bishop will co-adjuteur Bishop Émile Destombes. This
will turn 75 in August and asked to retire. Bishop Olivier will then work to strengthen interfaith dialogue. "Non-Christians rarely make the difference between Catholics and others," he notes. And what they call the "religion of Jesus" is generally frowned upon. It is often viewed as the religion of foreigners, or as a belief that does not respect the ancestors. "Other
reputation that" glue "to Catholicism: that of being the religion of the Vietnamese. To avoid stigma, they are urged by the Church to teach the Khmer language and integrate. When Epiphany, the future bishop moreover expressed the hope that the Church "continues to be a sign of communion, especially between Cambodian and Vietnamese communities."
in Cambodia's history, Christians have often been targeted because they represented the "enemy" Vietnamese. At that point the reasons for the persecution against them under the Democratic Kampuchea remain a subject of debate.
"Christians have suffered as Christians under the Khmer Rouge, and also during the Vietnam period, nevertheless considers Olivier Schmitthaeusler. But in the current trial, they are struggling to find their place, particularly because it is very political. The future bishop
also considering organizing a seminar on memory: "If we do not do that now, thirty years, there will be nothing left."
Adrien Le Gal
Copyright Hedbo Cambodge Soir, subscribe
SreAmbel, Cambodia France 
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