Catholics in Laos have welcomed their first cardinal appointment in anticipation of improved religious activities within the communist-run country. “We are extremely happy to hear that our Bishop Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun has been named as the first ever cardinal in Laos,” Martha Le Thi Thuy Hanh from Sacred Heart Parish, in the southern province of Champasak, told ucanews.com.
The consistory is scheduled for June 28, the vigil of the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. The church is treated very poorly in Laos — probably the worst in ASEAN save for Brunei,” a well-placed diplomatic source noted. “One reason is that most of the Catholics are of Vietnamese heritage or hill-tribes — not Lao Llum — the lowland Lao who rule the country. Catholics number some 45,000, about 1 percent of an estimated 7 million population, mostly Buddhist. There are only 4 bishops, 2 of them retired. The faithful are served by 21 Lao priests and deacons and a few dozen nuns.
