ASIA/THAILAND - National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies: the "different hope" that attracts people to Christ

Bangkok (Agenzia Fides) - "At Easter, there were 200 adult baptisms in the city of Bangkok, 15 of which were from my parish in Bangkok. This is good news and a sign of hope: it shows us that the Lord is acting and that Christ is attracting people, even in our particular context, a nation that is 90% Buddhist, where, out of 70 million inhabitants, there are about 300 thousand are Catholics," Fr. Peter Piyachart Makornkhanp, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Thailand, told Fides. "As a Church, we are a small minority, fragile, but we are strong in our faith. We are respected in society, we have good schools. We have good relationships with everyone," the National Director emphasized, referring to the social and cultural context in which the Catholic community lives.
"In Thailand," he explains, "the current mentality is characterized by generosity and respect for everyone, which is also reflected in the field of religion. The main idea is that all religions are perceived positively and help people; spirituality is a strong component of life, an important part, whatever it may be, so there is no problem in professing a faith community. The positive side is that we can make friends with everyone, that there is mutual respect, solidarity, and goodwill, and that fruitful cooperation with other people is possible. The other side of the coin is that for the ordinary person, one faith is as good as another, and it is completely irrelevant which religion one professes."
The Catholic Church brings "the specific face and the distinctive contribution of Christianity, of the Catholic faith. We have no problem preaching; we are free to show ourselves and reveal the face of Christ," but often people think "that they already have a religion, so they don't need anything else and do not seek anything new," he notes.
"In the freedom to express themselves, to open themselves to grace, and to share the Gospel, the Church has its own vitality," the priest added in this context. "Vocations to the priesthood are present and increasing: We have 80 seminarians in the interdiocesan seminary, which welcomes candidates for the priesthood from the 11 Thai dioceses who, God willing, will later become priests. This is a good perspective for the life of our Church, allowing us to live and carry out pastoral activities."
The National Director recalls that "a birth control policy is in place in the country and that Thai women do not have many children, so the overall assessment of the number of vocations is positive," and the same applies to vocations to religious life.
In general, he says, "the Church enjoys good relations with everyone in society, where it is recognized as a moral authority; it is valued by both institutions and ordinary people. The population understands our values and considers works such as education and welfare to be very important. We do not suffer from being a minority; there is no hostility or discrimination, and this brings great serenity to the normal life of Christian communities," which is also reflected in the work of evangelization.
"Our mission areas," says Fr. Peter Piyachart Makornkhanp, "are the various areas of Church life, including education, social work, and charity: everything serves the proclamation of the Gospel. I would like to note that the Church's social communications are very well developed: we have radio and television channels and social media channels that appeal primarily to young people and are widely used." "But even in a country with our culture, we sense secularization, that is, the tendency to live without God. But then that deep need in the heart returns; there is something in the heart of the people that resurfaces," notes the National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. "People are searching for truth, they are searching for something that goes beyond material life," he continues. "Often, the young people who study in our schools, when they become adults, reconsider the meaning and significance of their lives. Then they return to the Church and want to know more about Jesus Christ and our faith. Among them are also baptized adults. We see this especially in 2025, the year in which we celebrate the Jubilee of Hope." "Hope is something that fascinates and arouses interest," says the National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. "People find hope in the Catholic Church; we present a different hope for life, which is Christ himself. This is different from the hope one finds on the streets of the world. It is a different hope. Those who embrace it experience and witness new joy and new peace. And this gives us hope too." (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 9/6/2025)

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