Young Cambodians All Set For World Youth Day In Australia

Posted: 24th June 2008

PHNOM PENH (UCAN) -- Cambodian youths and Church workers accompanying them to the World Youth Day (WYD) celebration next month say they are ready for their trip to Australia.

Father Leo Ochoa, leader of the 50-member Cambodian delegation to WYD 2008 events scheduled July 15-20 in Sydney, describes the opportunity as an extraordinary gift to the Catholic Church in Cambodia and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Cambodian youths.

Youth delegates represent Cambodia's three Church territories -- Phnom Penh vicariate, and Battambang and Kompong Cham prefectures -- as well as various Church organizations including the Salesian Youth Movement, the Marist Brothers' Young Adults and the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

A few nuns and priests are part of the group, which is scheduled to spend a week in Melbourne for preparatory activities before proceeding to Sydney.
According to Salesian Father Ochoa, 58, the delegates already have gathered several times to prepare for the trip.

During the last gathering, at the Don Bosco center in Phnom Penh, the youths listened to Australian speakers talking about their home country, reflected on the meaning of WYD and Pope Benedict XVI's message for this year's celebration, and learned how to register for the program, the priest told UCA News. They also planned and rehearsed their cultural presentation for the WYD youth festival.

Referring to the WYD 2008 theme, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8), Father Ochoa remarked, "To be witnesses to Jesus, we need to spent time with him." The preparatory gatherings allowed for this, he said, by always including time for prayer and meditation on the word of God.

Youth delegates who spoke with UCA News expressed enthusiasm for their coming trip.
Srey Sokhorn, 22, from rural Chum Kiri parish, about 100 kilometers southwest of Phnom Penh, said he anticipates with "great joy" seeing the pope and meeting other young people. Sokhorn promised to share his experience in Australia with fellow youths in his "new" parish, established in 1995, as a way to help develop the local Church.

Thuem Sinouet, a St. Vincent de Paul Society member in Phnom Penh, said she looks forward to learning about life, faith, love and other cultures from other youths. Like Sokhorn, Sinouet is 22 and going abroad for the first time. She admitted to being anxious because of her limited English skills.

Father Ivan Campana, a parish priest serving in Kompong Cham apostolic prefecture who is accompanying the youths to Australia, described the international WYD 2008 event as a great occasion for Cambodian youths to express their faith and love for others.

The 34-year-old priest of the Colombia-based Yarumal missionary society, told UCA News the Church is covering the expenses for the delegates, who he said are active in the Church, some as parish youth leaders.

Sister Srey Socheat, a Cambodian nun who is also accompanying the youths, told UCA News that besides learning from their counterparts from other countries, the Cambodian youths also want to share their faith and culture.

The 32-year-old Lovers of the Cross nun elaborated that the delegation plans to stage a Khmer traditional dance presentation and an exhibition on the history of the Cambodian Church since the 1990s.

Decades of civil strife and the brutal 1975-79 reign of the Khmer Rouge destroyed local Church structures and left the country with no clergy or Religious. The local Church has revived Catholic communities and re-established itself since 1991, when religious freedom was restored.

Article Source: UCAN