By LiCAS.news
THAILAND – Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondarattana of Bangkok has warned against the exploitation of nationalist sentiment and called for peace rooted in justice and human dignity as armed clashes continue along the Thailand-Cambodia border.
“The tensions at the border are a source of deep concern. As a Church, we are called to resist divisive ideologies and to build bridges of fraternity,” said Archbishop Arpondarattana, who is also President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand, in an interview published by Italian Catholic news agency AgenSir on Jul 26.
He emphasized that the Thai Catholic Church views the current military escalation “with profound concern, interpreting it through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching, which prioritises human dignity, peace, and justice.”
Fighting broke out on Jul 24 in the disputed Ta Muen Thom area, resulting in at least 32 deaths and displacing over 130,000 people.
Thai authorities have declared martial law in eight districts as tensions over long-standing territorial disputes, including those related to the Preah Vihear temple, threaten to escalate further.
While acknowledging the historical complexities behind the conflict, the prelate cautioned against using border disputes as tools of political distraction.
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