CAMBODIA Missioners, Local Catholics Express Sadness Over Killing Of Taize Founder

Posted: 23rd August 2005

Br. Roger, founder of Taize Communication

PHNOM PENH (UCAN) -- Catholics in Cambodia have voiced sadness over the killing of 90-year-old Brother Roger Schutz in France, where he founded an ecumenical community now known around the world.

Father Verachai Sripramong, a Thai Missionary Society priest working in Phnom Penh vicariate, told UCA News that Brother Roger, was a "humble person, lovely and friendly."

A 36-year-old Romanian woman reportedly stabbed the Christian monk to death Aug. 16 during a prayer service in Taize, the base of the ecumenical community he began in 1940. Some of the 2,500 people present seized the woman and handed her over to police right after the stabbing.

Father Verachai, 43, said Brother Roger, whom he visited in 1997, had devoted himself to prayer and was his "hero." The Catholic priest expressed his hope that the Taize founder was now with the Lord in heaven.

Local Catholics who had met Brother Roger also expressed their sadness. Som Anitta, a young member of St. Joseph Parish, said she was shocked and did not understand why the peaceful man she had met in 1999 in Taize had become a victim of violence. "He was a good guide and peace builder," she told UCA News, adding that he "helped the young to understand deeply through prayer."

Ros Vutha, a 26-year-old lay leader of St. Joseph parish who visited Taize in 2002, said Brother Roger "always paid close attention to people." His openness may have been the reason why the murderer could get close enough to kill him, the layman added.

Monsignor Antonysamy Susairaj, apostolic prefect of Kompong Cham, which covers eastern Cambodia, called Brother Roger "a peaceful person."

The Indian-born Paris Foreign Missions prelate credited the late monk with developing a way of prayer that has helped many young people around the world, and also with promoting reconciliation among Christians, especially between Catholics and Protestants. Brothers in the Taize community come from various Christian traditions, he noted.

Drawing from his experience in the prefecture, Monsignor Susairaj acknowledged the difficulty of Brother Roger's accomplishments with Taize. "It is hard work trying to reconcile people from different groups," he said.

Brother Roger was born Roger Louis Schutz in 1915 in Switzerland, the youngest child of a Swiss Lutheran pastor and a French mother. He started his ecumenical community in 1940, toward the beginning of World War II, as a sanctuary for wartime refugees including Jews and, later on, German prisoners of war. He and some Christian friends took monastic vows in 1949, and within years Taize had become a magnet for young travelers.

The Taize community today has about 100 members from diverse Christian traditions and about 30 countries. The brothers all work for a living and do not accept donations.

The funeral for Brother Roger is scheduled for Aug. 23 in Taize. A remembrance service in Cambodia is being organized for Aug. 28 at St. Joseph Church in Phnom Penh.

Eight years ago, Brother Roger nominated successor, according to the rules of the community. He chose Brother Alois, a 51-year-old German Catholic. Upon hearing the news of the killing, Brother Alois left the World Youth Day celebrations in Cologne, Germany, to return to Taize.

Article Source: UNCANEWS and C.S.C