I have many stories through my work on this visit from an organisational side but the defining one is my discovering that Thai police would cover the pope's public mass to target foreigners without proper visas. So what is this about?
To go to the papal mass, everyone needs a pass and ID. Understandable but foreigners need to show their passport and visa page as Thai police will be checking for foreigners without a valid visa and with a criminal record. This acts against refugees who cannot get a visa and migrants with visa restrictions attending. These are ones I know and help. I have to stand by them. That was it. I now had a cause for which to stand and which enabled me to affirm my already held decision. No going back. Just boycott the events and watch the visit unfold from my coffee shop.
Neither category is criminal. They are not murderers or bank robbers but people seeking rightful opportunity and security in life. For this, they cannot even attend the papal mass which for the Catholics among them would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. This police action acts against their right and freedom to worship. It stands against the Church tradition of offering sanctuary to refugees. It goes against the very grain of being Catholic. It is an action that goes against the pope's strong stance for migrants. "They are us", he stresses.
I can do no other but follow my Pope and be them for this visit and stay away. That is my option with the marginalised and excluded. I do this for me as I am one of them. I am sure even the Pope would approve. Viva il Papa!
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