Published Date: December 4, 2009
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The Church’s ministry to the deaf in Cambodia faces significant challenges. For deaf Cambodians, there is no “God” and no “heaven,” as we know them. Cambodian Sign Language has no signs for “God,” “heaven” and related concepts. (Maryknoll Father Charles Dittmeier, UCA News)
Cambodia does not even have a Catholic deaf community.
To my knowledge, of the 20,000 Catholics in the country there is not one Catholic deaf person. So Church ministry to deaf people here means ministry to people who are not Catholics, and who have no vocabulary for God and Christian concepts.
In this situation, the Cambodian Church can evangelize by our work in the name of the Gospel. This is supported by the Nov. 19-21 conference in Rome.
One of the recommendations of the conference was to encourage the Church to help remove all obstacles to the integration of deaf people into society so that they can be trained, find work, develop and use their talents, and contribute to the good of society.
The Maryknoll Deaf Development Program in Cambodia (DDP) tries to do this. It works with deaf people 16 years of age and older who have no language whatsoever — signed, spoken or written — and who have never been to school.
Many don’t even understand what it means to be deaf.
Cambodia does not even have a Catholic deaf community.
To my knowledge, of the 20,000 Catholics in the country there is not one Catholic deaf person. So Church ministry to deaf people here means ministry to people who are not Catholics, and who have no vocabulary for God and Christian concepts.
In this situation, the Cambodian Church can evangelize by our work in the name of the Gospel. This is supported by the Nov. 19-21 conference in Rome.
One of the recommendations of the conference was to encourage the Church to help remove all obstacles to the integration of deaf people into society so that they can be trained, find work, develop and use their talents, and contribute to the good of society.
The Maryknoll Deaf Development Program in Cambodia (DDP) tries to do this. It works with deaf people 16 years of age and older who have no language whatsoever — signed, spoken or written — and who have never been to school.
Many don’t even understand what it means to be deaf.
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