Article: Roman Catholic Church And The Last Days

The Thai Catholic bishops have declared a “Holy Year” aimed at restoring the fervor of a New Evangelization and commemorating the 350th anniversary of the first Synod of Ayutthaya in Thailand. The great jubilee will also mark the opening of the first Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in Thailand under the theme, “The Disciples of Christ Live the New Evangelization,” slated from April 20-25, 2015.

Monsignor Andrew Vissanu Thanya Anan, executive secretary of the Thai Bishops Conference and former Vatican undersecretary for the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, explained the idea behind the year. “A new Pentecost will foster new evangelization, integrating faith and culture that will give an impetus for bolstering holistic interfaith and interreligious dialogue in the Asian context.”

Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovitavanij of Bangkok, president of the plenary council, presided over the Mass to open the Holy Year. His homily stressed that there is a need for the “Holy Spirit, that will boost the fervor of proclaiming Christ like the early apostolic community. Let us pray for a new Pentecost for renewing our New Evangelization,” Archbishop Kriengsak said, explaining that this “can be achieved by nurturing small ecclesial communities in order to renew their evangelical mission of proclaiming and living the Gospel.”

Today, the Catholic population of Thailand is less than 1 percent of the population. Some 95 percent of the Thai people are Buddhist, and many of the remainder are Muslim, making interreligious relations an important facet of life for Catholics in the south-east Asian nation.

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