Testimony given by Mgr. Antonysamy Susairaj, MEP

Posted: 1st July 2004

Mgr. Antonysamy Susairaj, MEP

...about MGR. ANDRÉ LESOUËF, MEP:
former Apostolic Prefect of Kompong Cham Prefecture.

Mgr. Antonysamy Susairaj, MEP, is the successor Apostolic Prefect of Mgr. Lesouëf in Kompong Cham. He had an informal dialogue with journalists of the CATHOLIC SOCIAL COMMUNICATION´s center:

I joined the MEP society in 1994. In May 1995 I came to Cambodia. Once I reached this country I was introduced to this French Foreign Missionary family, MEP. There I met Mgr. Andre Lesouef who welcomed me with a gentile smile and then he kept that gentleness and friendship till our last time we met each other in the year 2.000.

I have known from other people that Mgr. enter back Cambodia, after Pol Pot’s regime, in the year 1993. He stayed in Phnom Penh for sometime because Phnom Penh was the only place where had a kind of foothold with Bishop Emile first’s arrival in Phnom Penh. Then, slowly, Bishop Emile arranged a place for the Church which is the present Central Catholic parish in Phnom Penh. Then the priests started regrouping themselves and organizing their activities in Battambang and Kompong Cham Prefectures, as well. For Battambang Fr. Bernard Dupraz took the responsibility. For Kompong Cham Bishop André was always the Apostolic Prefect; even during the time of Pol Pot regime he continued to be the bishop of K. Cham.

One day he got permission from the Cambodian Government to visit Kompong Cham. He stood outside the K. Cham market the full day expecting to meet some Christians but he didn’t meet any, so he came back. Some days later it so happened that a woman who new about his arrival in Kompong Cham and happened to be a new Christian took interest to write to Mr. André and invited him to come to Kompong Cham and telling him that she was always waiting for his arrival. She told Mgr. Lesouëf that she would be very happy to help to start the Church in Kompong Cham. Bishop Andre was very happy because just a single Christian was more than enough for him. He went back to K. Cham, bought a small house, started living there and started organizing the Kompong Cham diocese or Apostolic Prefecture. We new that bishop Lesouëf in that time could animate the Kompong Cham diocese from different areas, like Neak Loueng, south of the Prefecture, where there was a big Catholic Community, mostly Vietnamese, with around 1.600 Catholics in one parish alone. But Bishop André had as a priority to start in the Kompong Cham province with the Khmer communities so that they could feel that they are part of this country and to feel proud of their faith and as a way to help them not to be misunderstood by the other Cambodians. With this interest Bishop André stayed in Kompong Cham and he did all what he could to restart the Catholic Church among the Cambodians.

IN WHAT YEAR DID BISHOP ANDRÉ MEET THAT CHRISTIAN LADY?

It was in 1993 itself. After receiving the letter from the lady he went to meet her at in her house. Then she was the one who help bishop André to buy the house and to organize it. Her name is BONNAT, she is a Khmer with some Chinese combination. She was selling at the market and she had one young girl helping her in the market named TARIN and she new another young girl who was teaching sewing and helping herself in other activities. When Bonnat started to help Bishop André she brought those to girls. The two of them later on became Christians and those same two girls are the first Religious Sisters to did her first religious vows a couple of months ago in Kompong Cham: Sisters Tarin and Songvat. Through the same Bonnat many others who are now Catholic leaders in different places, came to know bishop André, like our Catechist Sokty and his family. It was thanks to her witnessing nurtured by Mgr. Lesouëf that they have come to know the Church in Kompong Cham.

HOW MANY YEAR MORE STAYED MGR. ANDRÉ IN CAMBODIA AFTER HE CAME BACK FROM FRANCE?

When Mgr. André came back to Cambodia in 1993 he had past his age of retirement already. He was 76 old by then. That year he submitted his resignation to Rome. From Rome he got the answer that given the situation of the limited number of priests in Cambodia he was requested to continue serving as Apostolic Prefect of K. Cham some more time. And he went on 5 more years. In 1997 he was given a high appreciation letter from Rome telling him that they were happy to accept his resignation and they were grateful for the service and the sacrifice he had done for Kompong Cham in such difficult circumstances. Once he gave up his responsibility and I, myself (Fr. Antony) took over K. Cham Prefecture bishop André told me: What do you want me to do. I am at your disposal: either I can go back to France to have some rest or if you have any idea just tell me.

I told him “I am new to Cambodia; it’s a new country for me. I’ve been only here two years. I’m still a student to learn this language; and the Church of Cambodia after all these sufferings you have gone through…all these things I hear from people but they are not still part of me. So, is it possible for you to stay with me some more time, for example some more years, following my questions, following the needs of the diocese, the needs of the pastoral work, you will help me. Is it possible for you? And Bishop André was so simple and humble and he said immediately: “Anything that it is useful to you and useful to this diocese, if you think that I can do, I am ready to do. And he stayed on for three more years. It was a remarkable stay. He taught me a lot and he was setting a very good example for me.


WHEN DID YOU START AS A PREFECT OF KOMPONG CHAM:

I was a student of Khmer language in Kompong Cham diocese for three months, during which time I was sent to K. Cham to help in the pastoral work there as I could do. When I wanted to help Bishop André used to tell me: “ No, Antony, you are a language student. Take your time to study the language and take your time to be with us, to be present. All that is important is you should feel happy to be in our house. There is no need for you to hurry, to rush to take some pastoral responsibilities, to exercise your ministry. With your presence with us and your continued interest to learn the language is very important. The time will come when you will accept more responsibility, so don’t rush for any responsibility. And I was so happy about this relaxed way of guiding me and the offer of his friendship and love to me. I was a student for three months in K. Cham. Then, I was called to come back to Phnom Penh to start my third year of Cambodian language learning. After two months of Cambodian language in Phnom Penh I got the nomination as the Apostolic Administrator for Kompong Cham diocese. In the year 2000 I got the responsibility as Apostolic Prefect, in a sure way of succeeding Bishop André.

When Bishop André was leaving for his final travel to France he new that I was already Apostolic Prefect in full charge. He was very happy and content when he said good bye to me.

CAN YOU TELL US ANY ANECDOTE OR SPECIAL EVENT WITH Mgr. LESOUEF?

One day I went to Ratanakiri with Sister Xavier. I was there for one week and only a few Christians came to see me. When I returned I was a little discouraged. Bishop André asked me: “Antony, you look sad, what is the reason”. I told him: “After a long travel of one week I am a bit sad that not many Christians were free to come to talk to me, they were all busy in their works”. And Bishop André said: “ But you are lucky, when I came to K. Cham the first time after Pol Pot regime, I stayed the whole day outside the market I found nobody. But you see, you are luckier”. This was the way Bishop André used to encourage me all the time.

Once he felt sick. He went to Ratanakiri by flight. I got the news that he had high fever and diarrhea and that he was losing his consciousness. I rushed to Ratanakiri to be with him and to bring him to Phnom Penh. Thinking that I would be scared of his health he welcomed me with a broad smile telling me: “well, this is an old machine that sometimes it gets repaired, but that’s OK. Don’t bother”. This is the way I remember him: he always had a word of high encouragement to us and a word of thanking us, rather than to complain about his lack of health. I also gratefully remind his example. He was a very intelligent person, a very practical, pastoral person, with a deep knowledge of the Bible, with a lot of spirituality and desire of spiritual growth. He had the rich experience having being the rector at the Major Seminary in Saigon and in Phnom Penh, being Vicar Delegate of Bishop Ives Ramousse of the Apostolic Vicariate of Phnom Penh from the early 60’s till his denomination as Apostolic Prefect of Kompong Cham in 1968. During all those years he never showed that he was a handicapped person. But that was a big blow to him, youngster of his energy to lose one leg during the second world war was not a simple thing to accept. But accepted it and lived all his life from that time onwards with a single leg; the way he lived with us, he was never like asking for our health. He managed to present himself equal to us in every physical capacity. When ever we use to travel, to climb the river frank to go to the boat, it was not easy for Bishop André to climb down, but he never liked us to have pity on him, to hold on to him, to carry him. No! He would rather tell me, Antony you just march in front, I will touch your shoulder and I will walk with you at your back. It was like two people walking equally. “I don’t like anybody to carry me, or to show in any way that I am a handicapped person. With this way of Bishop André keeping his dignity and at the same time not to become a burden on others and to explain to others how they could help him in a dignified way, that touched me very much. He was a man of dignity and he taught us how to keep our dignity and how to respect his dignity.