The Role of Women in Development: Lessons from the Women's Desk of the Bangkok Archdiocese through the Lens of Catholic Social Teaching and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Authors

  • Pratheep Chatsuphang Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Mahidol University

Keywords:

Women's Development, Women's Desk, Bangkok Archdiocese, Catholic Social Teaching, Women's Leadership

Abstract

This academic article aims to study the role and operational models of the Women's Desk of the Bangkok Archdiocese within the framework of Catholic social teaching and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 5 on Gender Equality. This study employed document analysis to extract lessons learned from the practices of the Women's Desk. The findings revealed that the Women's Desk plays a vital role in promoting the holistic development of women by integrating spiritual development with social, economic, and political empowerment. This goal is pursued through five key strategies. These include holistic development, participatory engagement, a needs-based approach, network expansion, and leadership development. The operations of the Women's Desk clearly reflect the principles of Catholic social teaching, especially human dignity, the preferential option for the poor, subsidiarity, and solidarity. Furthermore, it shows that both the Church and the United Nations are aligned in their efforts to uphold the dignity and protect the rights of women. The article concludes that the Women's Desk is a successful model for integrating the spirit of service based on Catholic faith with modern development tools and approaches. A key challenge ahead is shifting from simply carrying out activities to actively shaping policies, highlighting the future challenge of transitioning from practice-based activities to active engagement in policy development within both the Church and wider society.

References

Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences. (2023). Journeying together as peoples of Asia. https://fabc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/FABC-Bangkok-Document-PRINT_2-Jan-2025.

Francis. (2015, February 7). Address to participants in the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture. Vatican. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2015/february/documents/papa-francesco_20150207_pontificio-consiglio-cultura.html

John Paul II. (1988). Mulieris dignitatem: On the dignity and vocation of women. Vatican. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1988/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_15081988_mulieris-dignitatem.html

John Paul II. (1995). Evangelium vitae: The gospel of life. Vatican. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae.html

Second Vatican Council. (1964). Lumen Gentium: Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. Vatican Publishing House. https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html

Second Vatican Council. (1965). Gaudium et Spes: Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. Vatican Publishing House. https://www.vatican.va/content/dam/wss/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html

UN Women. (2020). Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot 2020. United Nations. https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2020/09/progress-on-the-sustainable-development-goals-the-gender-snapshot-2020

United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda

คณะกรรมการคาทอลิกเพื่อคริสตศาสนธรรม แผนกพระคัมภีร์. (2014). พระคัมภีร์คาทอลิก ฉบับสมบูรณ์ (พิมพ์ครั้งที่ 1).

สภาพระสังฆราชคาทอลิกแห่งประเทศไทย. (2017). กฤษฎีการสมัชชาใหญ่ของพระศาสนจักรคาทอลิกในประเทศไทยคริสตศักราช 2015 “ศิษย์พระคริสต์เจริญชีวิตประกาศข่าวดีใหม่”. โรงพิมพ์อัสสัมชัญ

สภาพระสังฆราชคาทอลิกแห่งประเทศไทย. (2024). พระศาสนจักรที่ก้าวไปด้วยกัน ความเป็นเอกภาพ การมีส่วนร่วม และพันธกิจ เอกสารสรุปซีนอด 2021-2024. โรงพิมพ์อัสสัมชัญ

Downloads

Published

2025-12-25

How to Cite

Chatsuphang, P. (2025). The Role of Women in Development: Lessons from the Women’s Desk of the Bangkok Archdiocese through the Lens of Catholic Social Teaching and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Sahasat: Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 25(2), 62–76. retrieved from https://so02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/sahasart/article/view/281984

Issue

Vol. 25 No. 2 (2025): July - December

Section

Academic Article

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Sahasat: Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sahasarts: Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities places great importance on safeguarding copyright and protecting authors’ rights in the dissemination of academic works. The objective is to promote transparency, academic integrity, and adherence to international publishing standards. The journal has established the following policies:

 

1. Acceptance of Publication Conditions

-   Authors submitting manuscripts for publication must strictly comply with the journal’s policies and publication conditions.

-   Submission of a manuscript constitutes acceptance of the review and publication process in accordance with the journal’s standards.

2. Copyright Transfer

-   Upon acceptance for publication, authors agree to transfer the copyright of the article to Sahasarts: Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities.

-   The journal reserves the right to publish, reproduce, and disseminate the article in all formats, including print, online, and other digital media.

3. Authors’ Rights after Copyright Transfer

-   Authors retain the right to use their articles for academic purposes, such as teaching, personal research, inclusion in theses or dissertations, or dissemination on non-commercial platforms.

-   Any use of the article for commercial purposes requires prior written permission from the journal.

4. Publication under Creative Commons License

-   All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

-   Others may share or distribute the article with proper credit to the original author(s) but may not modify, adapt, or use it for commercial purposes.

5. Accuracy of Content and Use of Third-Party Materials

-   Authors must certify that the submitted manuscript is their original work, has not been simultaneously submitted elsewhere, and does not infringe copyright, plagiarize, falsify data, or otherwise violate academic publishing ethics.

-   Authors are responsible for obtaining permissions to use third-party materials (e.g., figures, tables, graphics) and must provide appropriate citations or acknowledgments.

6. Disclaimer

-   All published articles are the copyright of Sahasarts: Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities.

-   The content, data, and opinions expressed in the articles are the sole responsibility of the respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board or affiliated institutions.

-   In cases of error, copyright infringement, or ethical misconduct, full responsibility rests with the author(s).

-   Any commercial use of published articles requires prior written permission from the journal’s editor, including a clear statement of purpose and intended use. Unauthorized commercial use shall be the sole responsibility of the user.