Different faiths unite to welcome pope
While small in numbers, the Catholic Churchin Thailand hashad tremendous influence in the Kingdom due to its network of schools and hospitals
Tight security and strict traffic regulations have been put in place for Pope Francis’ arrival today, while leaders of different faiths get ready to meet him on Friday.
“The Pope will witness the harmonious and peaceful coexistence of people from different religions in Thailand,” Culture Minister Itthiphol Kunplome said, referring to the gathering that will be organised by the Department of Religious Affairs at Chulalongkorn University.
Father Joseph Anucha Chaiyadej, director of the Catholic Social Communications of Thailand, said the pope is expected to exchange views on the subject of world peace with the religious leaders. Pope Francis believes that inter-religious unity is key to solving conflicts in society.
He added that tens of thousands of people are expected to converge on the National Stadium on Rama I Road where the pope will celebrate Holy Mass tomorrow.
Separately, deputy national police chief Suwat Chaengyodsuk announced the opening of a 24-hour security and traffic coordination centre yesterday, and said people entering venues to welcome the pope will have to undergo strict screening.
As many as 6,500 police officers will also be deployed in Bangkok and Nakhon Pathom for the four-day papal visit.
Metropolitan Police Bureau deputy commissioner Jirasan Kaewsaengek confirmed that some roads will be closed to traffic from 12.30-1pm today, and from 8.30-9am on Saturday, when the pope flies to Japan. The closure will apply to the Don Muang Tollway, Din Daeng and Rama IV expressways and Rama IV and Sathon roads.
Security will also be tight tomorrow and on Friday, when Pope Francis visits eight venues — one in Nakhon Pathom and seven in Bangkok, namely Government House, St Louis Hospital, Ambara Villa at Dusit Palace, Wat Rachabophit, the National Stadium, Chulalongkorn University and the Cathedral of the Assumption in Bang Rak district.
Pol Maj Gen Jirasan advised motorists to stay clear of Rama I, Phaya Thai and Banthat Thong roads, although the closures will only apply for 10 minutes when the pope’s motorcade is passing. People are urged to use Silom, Ratchadamri, Sukhumvit, Ratchaprarop, Phloenchit, Phetchaburi, Rama VI, Sri Ayutthaya, Lan Luang, Yaowarat, Chaturathit and Chakkrawat roads instead.
The papal visit marks the 350th anniversary of the establishment of the Apostolic Vicariate of Siam, which brought Catholicism to Thailand in 1669.
Catholics in Thailand and Indochina eagerly await the arrival of Pope Francis in what the local church frames as an auspicious visit marking the 50th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between Thailand and the Vatican. At least 60,000 people from around the country have confirmed to attend the Mass celebrated by the Pope at National Stadium and the adjacent Chulalongkorn University Stadium. Catholics from neighbouring countries have been asked to limit their numbers as officials fear logistical problems may occur that day.
The Catholic Church in Thailand traces its history to the Ayutthaya period but relations were only formalised in 1969. While relatively small in numbers, the church’s influence is evident in the educational and healthcare systems of the Kingdom.
It also has a very prominent role in humanitarian relief and ongoing care for the large refugee populations along border areas.
Although the emphasis of the Pope’s visit is interreligious dialogue with Buddhist religious leaders, two larger issues that define his papacy loom in the background — climate change that threatens to engulf Bangkok due to a projected sea level rise, and calls for Asean, currently chaired by Thailand, to find a solution to the crisis facing Rohingya refugees.
“The primary message of Pope Francis during this apostolic visit is tolerance and unity between people of different religious beliefs. He also constantly carries the message of carefor human dignity and the protection of the environment, particularly the issue of global warming that he enshrined in the encyclical Laudato Si,” explained Monsignor Vissanu Thanya-anan, deputy secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand, the highest governing body of the church in the country.
Just three weeks ago, an updated scientific study forecast that land occupied by hundreds of millions of people could be flooded by sea level rise as early as 2050.In the maps shown by Climate Central, which authored the research, almost the entirety of Bangkok and swathes of land along the Gulf of Thailand are seen under water. China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia and India also face the same predicament.
Pope Francis is widely regarded for his encyclical Laudato Si, On Care For Our Common Home in which he calls for swift and unified action to stop environmental destruction, climate change, unsustainable development and the throwaway culture based on consumerism — all of which hurt the most vulnerable in human society, namely the poor and future generations.
Laudato Si was hailed as to have provided the moral impetus for the near-unanimous ratification of the Paris Climate Treaty that has now set the blueprint for global action to limit warming to 1.5C. The Pope explicitly prescribed eliminating fossil fuel-based energy, such as coal, from economic development models and use renewable energy instead. His teaching influenced the Catholic Church to aggressively divest billions of dollars away from coal-based energy companies.
“With definite clarity, the Pope is asking religious leaders, scientists, economists, capitalists and all of mankind to protect our common home from climate change and pollution. But this is not just about the environment. Ultimately, it’s about us humans because we endanger ourselves when our ecosystems are at risk of collapsing,” said Father Carlo Velardo, spokesman and attaché at the Vatican embassy, or nunciature, in Thailand.
While relatively small in numbers, the church’s influence is evident in the educational and healthcare systems of the Kingdom
In Southeast Asia, religious leaders have long been advocates for the environment. Monks in Thailand, for example, have fought off illegal logging in the country’s few remaining intact forests. But unlike the West where the Pope was directly heard by fossil fuel companies, Asia is not too eager to change its energy infrastructure. Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and, to a lesser degree, Thailand are set to construct a large number of coal power plants over the next few years (despite rapid growth in renewable energy deployment in the region as well). Many of these upcoming coal plants are bankrolled by Japan, South Korea and China.
The Pope’s arrival in Bangkok and Tokyo, two of Asia’s major capitals for trading and financing of coal, will pose an interesting scenario. Will Bangkok’s and Tokyo’s money managers heed the Pope’s message of economic sustainability and investing in companies that do no further damage to the climate?
CARE FOR THE DISPLACED
After his installation, Pope Francis’ first significant act was to visit Lampedusa, an island where thousands of refugees are stranded in their attempt to seek asylum in Europe. He commemorated the 22,000 refugees who died fleeing wars and persecution in Africa and the Middle East.
This gesture would reverberate throughout Europe, where people are mainly Christians, as he challenged the continent to show compassion for refugees, whose homelands are ravaged by endless wars and harsh environmental disasters. Pope Francis would set alight a furious debate in the Western world about the real values of Christianity.
“In a humanitarian disaster, we should treat everyone as our brother, sister, neighbour, our family. This is what the Pope teaches us. Anyone who does not show compassion and respect for human dignity cannot call himself a religious person. Christianity is just a mask for people like that,” Father Velardo added.
In Thailand, the church has historically been active in providing humanitarian assistance for those who fled the Vietnam War and the genocide in Cambodia. In fact, when Pope John Paul II visited in 1984, part of his itinerary was a refugee camp in Chon Buri. The civil war in Myanmar also forced thousands of ethnic tribes to languish in the border camps of Mae Sot, Kanchanaburi and Mae
Hong Son. Most are considered stateless, therefore lack the legality to pursue education or economic opportunities, and are reliant on the church for education, health care and other basic needs.
The plight of the Rohingya people that have fled to Bangladesh to escape systematic violence is back centre stage after being tackled at the recent summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
When the Pope visited Myanmar in 2017, human rights campaigners were reportedly dismayed because he did not mention Rohingya in any of his speeches. In his defence, other observers said the message of the Pope was about justice for the Rohingya, and that offending the military brass might result in a backlash against Catholics in Myanmar.
No doubt, there is an expectation that he address the issue of refugees in Thailand as well as the Rohingya.
The church, however, is unequivocal on its stance on providing care for refugees and other displaced people.
“The Catholic Church is very clear about protecting human dignity above all. Our humanitarian works extend beyond Thailand. But while we don’t get involved in sensitive political matters, we actively get involved in humanitarian assistance for refugees, stateless people and ethnicities on the fringes,” Monsignor Vissanu said.