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 care for 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.
Father Carlo Velardo, attaché at the Vatican embassy, or nunciature, in Thailand. (Photo: Arthur Jones Dionio)
THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE
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.
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?
A painting of the martyr Blessed Nicholas Boonkerd Kitbamrung. The Pope will visit the shrine dedicated to him in Nakhon Pathom. (Photo courtesy of Embassy of the Vatican)
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.
