MISSION Magazine Winter 2024

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20 “This wheelchair took me to many parts of the country. It transforms the lives of people who move from a dim life, locked in their homes, to being able to study, leave their homes, have a social life,” he said. “But it also transforms the life of the giver.” “One person once told me that the wheelchair we give is a sacrament, because it transforms people’s lives,” he said. “It is a visible sign of a visible relationship.” In 1998, when the ongoing remnants of the violence ended, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, known for centuries as Propaganda Fidei, which oversees The Pontifical Mission Societies, “was looking for a bishop for the area where I was, and appointed me as Apostolic Prefect. For me it was a huge change, because I was very involved in social work, the integration of the disabled into civil society, and doing outreach … as we so often say now, I was used to a Church that goes out to meet people where they are.” But the prelate was quick to adapt, and under his leadership, and with constant support from the universal Church, since that in Cambodia is too poor to be self-reliant, the faith has grown exponentially. When he was appointed Apostolic Prefect, his territory had 15 communities, and now there are 31, with 30 new churches built in three decades due to the support of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, one of four pontifical societies. The growth, he said, is an example of what can be achieved when missionaries are equipped with the right resources and the relentless prayers of the global Catholic community. Today, he still oversees the wheelchair project with a workshop on the side of his church. It employs 18 people, all of whom are amputees from personal landmines, and together, they build an average of 100 chairs a day. During the past three decades, they have given some 30,000 chairs away. The workshop is primarily self-sustainable thanks to Red Cross International and Handicapped International, which buy 30 percent of the production so Bishop Enrique can give the others for free since the beneficiaries cannot cover the production costs, estimated at $150. “We would like to continue growing because there is a great need still, in Cambodia and so many other places marred by violence, war, and tragedy, but to do that, we would need more capital.”
21 Bishop Enrique’s philosophy is straightforward and profound: Convey Christ’s message through charity. “Accompanying them, being seen as close and caring, attracts,” he asserts. And it’s evident that his approach has borne fruit, with many drawn towards the faith. Integral to Bishop Enrique’s persona is his unique pectoral cross, handcrafted in silver by one of the welders in the wheelchairs workshop. It symbolizes his mission and the enduring spirit of the Cambodian people. “My cross is a mutilated Christ. It represents that Jesus suffers in solidarity with disabled people, but it also tells us that disabled people also suffer with the Lord, completing the salvation of the world,” he said. “And it also speaks to us of the mystical body of Christ, incomplete due to lack of understanding, wars, and not having known the love of the Lord. Our mission is to complete it, with love, understanding, solidarity.”
Page 1 and 2: A MAGAZINE OF THE PONTIFICAL MISSIO
Page 3 and 4: A letter from Monsignor Harrington,
Page 5 and 6: Not far in the city is a kindergart
Page 7 and 8: 5 As I laid in bed that night, I co
Page 9 and 10: 7 I have seen with my own eyes Chri
Page 11 and 12: The road here has not been easy, an
Page 13 and 14: 11 The Ethiopian Orthodox Church, o
Page 15 and 16: 13 Society of St. Peter: A Seminary
Page 17 and 18: 15 year’s 166 seminarians come fr
Page 19 and 20: 17 she notes, highlighting the fert
Page 21: 19 His story is not just an account
Page 25 and 26: Having once served in the French mi
Page 27 and 28: 25 Propagation of the Faith: A tiny
Page 29 and 30: 27 Cardinal Giorgio’s admiration
Page 31 and 32: 29 From the Dioceses: Aqua est vita
Page 33 and 34: 31 worm, typhoid, and cholera are r
Page 35 and 36: 33 on our trips. I believe it was t
Page 37 and 38: 35 The Fulton Sheen Legacy Society
Page 39 and 40: a Viatorian Fathers-founded institu
Page 41 and 42: 39 Editor’s Note: Being beacons o
Page 43 and 44: 41 In support of those spreading th

MISSION Magazine Winter 2024

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