Pope to Thai bishops on education, human exploitation, interreligous dialogue

(May 16, 2008) Catholic schools and colleges in Thailand should not only contribute to the intellectual formation of young people, they should also make an outstanding contribution to the spiritual and moral education of the youth, Pope Benedict XVI said on Friday. “It is for these crucial aspects of the formation of the person that parents – whether Catholic or Buddhist – turn to Catholic schools,” the Pope told the bishops of Thailand on Friday. Eleven bishops of the majority Buddhist country are currently on their ‘ad limina’ visit to Rome which heads of dioceses are required to make every 5 years on the state of their jurisdiction. Pope Benedict urged that the role of religious men and women who run educational institutions should primarily be one of mission rather than of administration. They should remain close to the students and their families, most especially through their classroom teaching of the catechism for Catholics and others interested, and through moral formation and care for the spiritual needs of all in the school community. Pope Benedict commended the Thai Church’s fight against the scourge of the trafficking of women and children, and prostitution, and suggested that this abhorrent human exploitation can be effectively addressed by fighting the trivialization of sexuality in the media and entertainment industries which, he said, fuels a decline in moral values and leads to the degradation of women, the weakening of fidelity in marriage and even the abuse of children. The Pope also encouraged the Thai bishops dialogue and cooperation with the country’s majority Buddhist population, especially in fighting secular trends in society that pushes the transcendent and the sense of the sacred to the margins and eclipses the very source of harmony and unity within the universe.