Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana of Bangkok, the conference’s president, described voting as a “moral requirement” in which “citizens take a common responsibility for the common good.” The prelate called for “monitoring, verifying, and maintaining moral truth at every stage” of the election.

Archbishop Arpondratana added:

The foundation of leadership qualities is clearly laid in the Bible. When Moses was instructed by God to choose a ruler, “Choose from among the people a man who is able, God-fearing, faithful, and does not take bribes, and makes him his leader” (Exodus 18:21).

Corruption, the prelate warned, “destroys the nation. Political corruption is a betrayal of the people and a serious violation of social justice.”

Thailand, a Southeast Asian nation of 70 million (map), is 87% Buddhist, 6% Muslim, and 2% ethnic religionist.

“As I pray for the victims, I express my closeness to those who have been displaced and to all who are offering them support,” the Pope added. “May the Lord help you and bless you!”

BBC reported that the flooding in the southeastern African nation is the worst in a generation and has affected over 640,000 people.

Pope Leo XIV praised St. Thomas Aquinas’s commentary on Scripture on January 28, the saint’s liturgical memorial.

Pope Leo XIV received Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, on January 28.

Yesterday was the International Remembrance Day for all victims of the Holocaust, which brought death to millions of Jews and to many other people. On this yearly occasion of painful remembrance, I ask the Almighty for the gift of a world without antisemitism and without prejudice, oppression, and persecution of any human creature.

I renew my appeal to the community of nations to remain ever vigilant. May the horror of genocide never again be inflicted upon any people and that a society founded on mutual respect and the common good may be built.