Cambodia: Pope Wojtyla, the image of a free man, says apostolic vicar to Phnom Penh

Mgr Schmitthaeusler, in Rome for John Paul II’s beatification, stresses the late pontiff’s plea to “be free” and to “experience love as a gift”. The Church in Cambodia remembers him with affection. Thanks to him, Buddhist religious leader have a “positive view” of Catholicism. Bearing witness to …

By Asia News
Friday, April 29, 2011

Rome – John Paul II was a “symbol and image of a free man”. Because he was free, “on several occasions he brushed aside official protocol”. He met many leaders, like Fidel Castro and General Jaruzelski, and bore witness to his faith, said Mgr Olivier Michel Marie Schmitthaeusler, apostolic vicar in Phnom Penh, as he spoke about the late pope.