ASIA/CAMBODIA - The "mutilated Christ" of Battambang takes on the pain of people with disabilities

Battambang (Agenzia Fides) - "There are many disabled people in Cambodia: many are victims of the civil war and of landmines scattered throughout Cambodian territory. During my journey I had an inspiration from the Lord: in a retreat house in Portugal I saw the image of a mutilated Christ. Since then, this image has become my pectoral cross", explains to Fides the Jesuit Enrique Figaredo Alvargonzález, Apostolic Prefect of Battambang, who has lived as a missionary in Cambodia for 40 years, on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, celebrated today, December 3. Established by the United Nations in 1981, the day aims to raise awareness and understanding of the concerns of people with disabilities and to promote commitment to ensuring the dignity, rights, opportunities and well-being of people with disabilities. The Apostolic Prefect explains the meaning of the “mutilated Christ” which “gives motivation, light and joy to the disabled”: “The first meaning: Christ is missing a leg, as is the case with the many disabled people in Cambodia. Jesus, our Lord, identifies with their suffering, he is like them and is with them, he lives their suffering to redeem them. People can say: Jesus is one of us, we are not alone, Jesus suffers with us. The second meaning: through their suffering, the disabled are linked to the suffering of Christ for the salvation of the world. They see and understand a meaning in their suffering, and this gives them a new light. They are united with Christ who suffers in all the poor and in all the injustices of the world: they are at his side and with him offer their sufferings for the salvation of humanity”. A third meaning, he continues, “is that the Mystical Body of the Lord is incomplete: in the Mystical Body of Christ we are limbs, hands, arms, legs, but something is missing; a leg is missing because the love of God is not known and not accepted. The Lord is rejected by a large part of humanity. Our task is to be the part that is missing: this is a task that the mutilated Christ gives us, we are those who complete the Mystical Body of Christ for humanity. It is therefore a missionary Christ, as I always say in the Mass. We are the Body of Christ. We are called to express and be what is missing for the fullness of the Mystical Body, to complete it. This mission also accompanies the life of the disabled and gives them joy”. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 3/12/2024)

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