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Paul Tep Im Sotha
Cambodian Roman Catholic priest From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Paul Tep Im Sotha Samath (Khmer: ទេព អ៊ីមសុត្ថា; 1934–May 1975)[1][2] was a Cambodian Roman Catholic priest and the first apostolic prefect of Battambang.[3] Ordained in 1959, he was the second native Cambodian to become a Catholic priest after Simon Chhem Yen.[1]
Tep Im was raised by his mother to be a Catholic, and at a young age began to be sent to various schools abroad, such as in Vietnam, France, and Italy.[1] After his ordination at the Notre-Dame de Paris, Tep Im took further theological studies in Rome. However, growing concerns for his country's problems as well as a decisive conversation with American bishop Fulton Sheen would lead him to decide against a monastic life and return to Cambodia by August 1962.[1] Upon the establishment of the Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang, Tep Im was installed as its apostolic prefect on September 26, 1968, a position he remained in up to his death under the Khmer Rouge regime in early May 1975.[1]
Tep Im has been described by historian Milton Osborne as a priest with remarkable understanding of both the Catholic faith and Cambodian society.[4] A boarding house for secondary and tertiary-level students in Battambang was named after him.[5][6] In June 2015, the Catholic Church officially opened an inquiry into Tep Im's presumed martyrdom, alongside others such as Joseph Chhmar Salas who died during the Cambodian genocide.[3]
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