Mission in Thailand, to build bridges between faiths and cultures
by Weena Kowitwanij
It is the work of Fr Anthony Le Duc, a Vietnamese-born American priest in a parish in the north-east of the country. The care of HIV patients and orphans, to bridge the social gap. Masses and liturgies in many languages, because "we are a small community" that is "part of the universal Church."
Bangkok (AsiaNews) - To promote the Christian faith and build bridges between people of different religions, cultures and attitudes, with particular attention to people with HIV and orphans of the community. This is the mission of Fr Anthony Le Duc, a Vietnamese-born American priest, called to evangelize the only parish in the province of Nongbua Lamphu, Diocese of Udon Thani, north-east Thailand. The priest was ordained in 2006 in the Chicago Society of the Divine Word Missionaries - the "Verbiti" - (SVD), after a period of studies at Berkeley University where he graduated and where his vocation to Christ and mission of the Church Universal was born.
Fr. Anthony tells his story to the Thai Catholic monthly Udomsarn, starting from his birth "in Vietnam" and transfer, together with his family at a young age to the United States, his adopted country. As a child he dreamed of becoming an astronaut, writer, doctor, psychologist, and even then, in 1994, during college, the discovery of vocation and the entrance in the SVD. "As a rule - he says – becoming a missionary is not one of the main aspirations of young people." Buying the latest mobile phone model, he adds, has become more important than attending Sunday Mass. And when he confessed to family and friends who would go to Thailand to announce the Word of God, the reply he received was: "How will you ever learn such a strange local dialect?".
However, the strength of the work of God overcomes obstacles and difficulties: "I started to study the Thai language - continues Fr Anthony - and more familiar I became with the language, the greater became my admiration of the Thai culture. " He describes the community of the parish of St. Michael the Archangel in Nongbua Lamphu in simple words, but full of affection, "the majority of the elderly remain at home to care for grandchildren while parents work in Bangkok. We are a small Catholic community in the midst of a majority of Buddhists, "a small part" of the universal Church".
Most of the work, the priest explains, is to live with people of different faiths and bridge the cultural social divide and causes of misunderstanding and division. Part of this includes work among people with HIV, which is conducted with the rest of the community. Then there are the orphans, who play with the other children to become "concrete signs - said Fr Anthony – of solidarity and mutual acceptance among parishioners. "
The priest concludes his story by recalling the words of Msgr. Joseph Luechai Thatwisai, bishop of the Diocese of Udon Thani, "the church of St. Michael the Archangel is a really 'international' community because, in the celebration, each testifies to the diversity that characterizes our reality, which consists of various cultures, nationalities and languages" . Among many examples, the liturgical celebrations in "English, Vietnamese, Indian, Tagalog, the local dialect of the north-east and a dialect of central Thailand."
Fr. Anthony tells his story to the Thai Catholic monthly Udomsarn, starting from his birth "in Vietnam" and transfer, together with his family at a young age to the United States, his adopted country. As a child he dreamed of becoming an astronaut, writer, doctor, psychologist, and even then, in 1994, during college, the discovery of vocation and the entrance in the SVD. "As a rule - he says – becoming a missionary is not one of the main aspirations of young people." Buying the latest mobile phone model, he adds, has become more important than attending Sunday Mass. And when he confessed to family and friends who would go to Thailand to announce the Word of God, the reply he received was: "How will you ever learn such a strange local dialect?".
However, the strength of the work of God overcomes obstacles and difficulties: "I started to study the Thai language - continues Fr Anthony - and more familiar I became with the language, the greater became my admiration of the Thai culture. " He describes the community of the parish of St. Michael the Archangel in Nongbua Lamphu in simple words, but full of affection, "the majority of the elderly remain at home to care for grandchildren while parents work in Bangkok. We are a small Catholic community in the midst of a majority of Buddhists, "a small part" of the universal Church".
Most of the work, the priest explains, is to live with people of different faiths and bridge the cultural social divide and causes of misunderstanding and division. Part of this includes work among people with HIV, which is conducted with the rest of the community. Then there are the orphans, who play with the other children to become "concrete signs - said Fr Anthony – of solidarity and mutual acceptance among parishioners. "
The priest concludes his story by recalling the words of Msgr. Joseph Luechai Thatwisai, bishop of the Diocese of Udon Thani, "the church of St. Michael the Archangel is a really 'international' community because, in the celebration, each testifies to the diversity that characterizes our reality, which consists of various cultures, nationalities and languages" . Among many examples, the liturgical celebrations in "English, Vietnamese, Indian, Tagalog, the local dialect of the north-east and a dialect of central Thailand."
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