ASIA/LAOS - President of the Bishops of Laos and Cambodia: The life of the Church in Laos ‘is a small miracle’

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Rome (Agenzia Fides) - "In Laos there are great difficulties in communicating with the outside world. Even for me, as President of the Episcopal Conference of Laos and Cambodia (CELAC), it is very complicated to get in touch with the local bishops, who are rather elderly and sick, or with other representatives of the Catholic communities. There are language difficulties and then there are the difficulties related to the control of the government apparatus. Contacts are sporadic. However, the Catholic community in Laos gives glory to God, has a strong faith, and continues its journey with joy," said to Fides Jesuit Enrique Figaredo Alvargonzález SJ, Apostolic Prefect of Battambang, Cambodia, and President-in-Office of CELAC, the Episcopal Conference that unites the Bishops of the two Southeast Asian countries.
The assembly of bishops is held twice a year, once in Laos, once in Cambodia, and during the course of the year an attempt is made to maintain a link between the bishops, depending on the needs and opportunities in the ecclesial community.
"In Laos," recalls the Apostolic Prefect, "there are only local priests and religious because it is not permitted to have foreign missionaries on a permanent basis. Contacts between local communities with the outside world are difficult, and even the Churches in neighbouring countries can offer limited and sporadic support. But the Laotian community is not discouraged at all, and truly lives each day to the glory of God'.
The Laotian Bishop, Andrew Souksavath Nouane, Apostolic Vicar of Paksé since 2022," reports Figaredo, "is the youngest and speaks English, so he is the reference for our communications with the Laotian Church, which," he informs us, "is necessarily autonomous and self-sufficient, at all levels, since it has no material or spiritual aid from abroad. Within this framework, "the Church goes forward only by the grace of God. The life of the community proceeds well, even the baptized are increasing. How is this possible? I would say it is a small miracle. There are many nuns and catechists, all Laotian, who help in pastoral life, especially going around the villages where there are baptized people," he observes.
Apostolic Prefect Figaredo recalls some celebrations he attended in Laos: "There, we could see the vitality of the Laotian Catholic community. At the episcopal ordination liturgy of Apostolic Vicar Souksavath an incredible number of people packed the church, about 4,000 of them came from all over the country. The celebration of the recognition of the Laotian martyrs in 2016 was also a great event of faith, very well organized and full of emotion".
"Therefore," he continues, “the life of the Church throbs, there is participation and loyalty, it is a community that is culturally very local, but lives full loyalty to the Pope, who is regarded with great affection,” he continues.‘"What do they need? Facilities, spiritual and biblical formation for nuns, catechists, seminarians, the faithful. Priests and teachers could come from the Churches of neighbouring countries, but this is not always allowed," he says.
A positive sign, Figaredo notes, is "the establishment of Caritas Laos, which is already working, and is included in the Caritas Internationalis network, so that Laotian volunteers participate in meetings abroad, for example in Bangkok".
The President of CELAC concludes: "From my own experience, I can say that there is great hope for the Church in Laos. There is life. There are many young people, and there is a blossoming of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, which are more numerous than in Cambodia. In Laos, with 51,000 faithful, there are more Catholics than in Cambodia. For foreign contacts and that of the universal Church, there are some priests who studied in the Philippines and thus learned English. These people are a link and can help their community and their country a lot". (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 1/11/2024)