austraLasia 938
New Thai Salesian Bishop comments on recent deaths in Southern Province
BANGKOK: 2nd November '04 -- Bishop-elect Joseph Prathan Sridanusil, whose diocese of Surat Thani covers the southern provinces of Thailand where there has been much unrest and most recently more than 80 deaths in a riot on 25th October, has expressed his sorrow at the loss of so many lives. "On a personal level, I feel so sad that those people have to die such a tragic death. I am not placing any blame on any party as I do not have enough data, but such deaths are a result of sin in the world", he said in a recent interview sourced from UCAN, www.ucanews.com
Bishop-elect Prathan indicated that under his leadership the diocese would seek to strengthen dialogue with other religions, since it is his firm belief that "finding ways to solve conflicts from the religious perspective, such as through dialogue, collaboration and patience, is the key."
Catholics form less than one percent of the entire Thai population. The region covered by the Surat Thani diocese has the majority of Muslims in the country. Their total number is somewhere between three and six million.
____________________________
'austraLasia' is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia-Pacific. It functions also as an agency for ANS, based in Rome. Try also www.bosconet.aust.com The Annex (casa annessa): a most significant development in the work of the Oratory. For further comment cf. Lexisdb
