During the rule of the Khmer Rouge, all religious activities were forbidden, and many Catholics were persecuted, especially priests and other ordinaries. Also many Vietnamese Catholics, the majority of Catholics in Cambodia, were either executed or expelled from the country. Most churches were also destroyed. The number of Catholics in the area of the vicariate fell from about 30,000 to less than 10,000. In 1989, the new constitution of Cambodia allowed freedom of religion once again, although the preaching of Christianity was still forbidden by the Council of Ministers. In March 1990, the Cambodian government gave its approval for a group of Catholics to celebrate Easter Sunday, the first public worship in Cambodia in 15 years.
