BANGKOK (UCAN): The government of Thailand officially recognised three Catholic churches after a 93-year wait in a bid to foster religious harmony in the country according to a report in the Thai Post.
The Ministry of Culture officially approved nine religious places of worship on August 23, including three Catholic Churches and six Buddhist temples, the report said.
The ministry approved St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Bangkok, St. Monica Church in Nan Province, and St. Joseph the Worker Church in Phrae Province.
“This certification of the Catholic Church is considered a way to promote and foster religions in Thailand, to appropriate them in line with the current situation,” Itthiphol Khunpluem, minister of Culture, said.
The minister also added that the move seeks to encourage people to have places for their religious activities and to “receive education and instill morals that are correct according to religious principles.”
The Kingdom of Thailand had recognised only 57 Catholic churches by 1929. With the latest approvals, the count stands at 60.
In 2021, the Thai cabinet approved a formal law enabling the approval of religious places of worship.
The decree states that a new parish can be established only if it has a permanent resident priest and a minimum of 200 parishioners who can support the parish. Under exceptional circumstances, a diocese can request that the criteria—resident priest and the minimum number of faithful—be waived.
The provisions of the law state that the list of parishes thus established shall be released annually by the Religions Department and have up to two years to seek approval.
The Social Communication Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand welcomed the new decree in 2021, stating that the recognition addresses the need of “the current situation and provides greater certainty and guarantees for the future” for the Catholic Church in the country.
As of 2019, Thailand has some 388,000 Catholics, roughly half a per cent of the country’s around 69 million population.
