Two monks fled Vietnam 15 years ago, one “broken” between his Khmer identity and Vietnamese education, the other persecuted over pro-Khmer protests. They haven’t been back since, but still fight to preserve a fading heritage in a foreign country.
A monk in Siem Reap province alleges he was ordered to leave his pagoda Saturday night because he showed support for the opposition Candlelight Party.
Activist monks say a Ministry of Religions draft law will potentially stamp out over a century of resistance and advocacy for the environment, human rights and political participation.
A Kampong Cham monk chief was reinstated after being arrested and defrocked last week for allegedly violating Covid-19 measures.
As tens of thousands of Covid-19 cases mount across the country, lives inside Cambodia’s pagodas have become marked by caution and practical concerns — more cooking and fewer ceremonies — while creating a void of Buddhist teachings for the nation, monks said.
A controversial chief monk is accused of racking up $220,000 in debt for constructions while destroying ancient property at a famous Kratie pagoda, and his reappointment on Monday caused leading monks in the province to issue a letter threatening to resign.
A defrocked monk accused of the rape of 12 boys, and who has been on the run from police for six years, was arrested in June at a pagoda in Ratanakiri province where he was living as a monk, the head of a child protection police unit said on Friday.
About 30 villagers wielded axes and machetes as they tore down a forestry patrol shed in Oddar Meanchey province, locals say, sparking accusations of corruption and timber trafficking from a prominent monk’s environmentalist coalition.
The Religion Ministry will now require pagodas to have hard land titles as part of an effort to better regulate religious institutions in the country, a move some monks said would tighten authorities’ control of monks who participate in social work.
Cambodia’s chief monk has ordered Buddhist leaders nationwide to find and defrock prominent activist Venerable Luon Sovath, who was ordered to give up his monk’s robes for allegedly having sexual relations with women, a claim he denies.
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