“I am convinced that climate change, and what we do about it, will define us, our era, and ultimately the global legacy we leave for future generations. Today, the time for doubt has passed.”  Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

The 17th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) celebrated April 16-27, 2018 discussed the “Indigenous peoples’ collective rights to lands, territories and resources.”  During these days the minds and hearts of Catholic Inspired NGOs at the UN was tuned with the first meeting of the committee that discussed in Rome, together with Pope Francis, the themes of the Amazon Synod.

Pope Francis announced a special assembly of the Synod of Bishops, scheduled for October 2019: “Accepting the desire of some Catholic Bishops’ Conferences in Latin America, as well as the voice of various pastors and faithful from other parts of the world, I have decided to convene a Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, which will take place in Rome on October 2019.”

Particular attention, he added, will be paid to the indigenous people, “often forgotten and without the prospect of a serene future,” and to the crisis of the Amazonian rain forest, considered one of the world’s “lungs” because of the amount of oxygen produced by its abundant vegetation. In March of 2015, the Vatican announced an initiative to protect the Amazon basin and its inhabitants.

The Congregation of the Mission is an active member of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (PEPAM), aimed at promoting the economic development of the region while managing Amazonian natural resources in a way that’s respectful of human dignity and targets the common good. From the United Nations Mining Working Group together with the Daughters of Charity and more than 30 NGOs we work in profound communion with REPAM on the protection of the Amazon rainforest which is a critical global priority since it generates 20 percent of the earth’s oxygen and is home to 15 to 20 percent of all species.

Following the main intuitions of Laudato Si the hope of environmentalists and ecclesial activists is that the Synod can unify, much more, the Church’s efforts to promote responsible stewardship and sustainability to promote human rights, evangelization (humanization), and the cultural, social, and economic development of its people, especially the indigenous population.

When visiting Brazil at the beginning of his pontificate, Francis told a group of Brazilian bishops that the Amazon should not be “indiscriminately exploited, but rather made into a garden.”  “The Church’s presence in the Amazon Basin is not that of someone with bags packed and ready to leave after having exploited everything possible,” Francis told the bishops. “The Church has been present in the Amazon Basin from the beginning, in her missionaries, religious congregations, priests, laity and bishops, and she is still present and critical to the area’s future.”

Some of us have been advocating for a reflection during the Synod that considers the consequences of cultural, economic, political and religious colonialism in the Amazon not only in the past but also in present times. The indigenous people and the amazon territories have been subjugated to a systemic, cruel and inhuman oppression that seriously imperils the existence of this essential resource for the future of humanity as well as hundreds of other species.

We also think that a Synod on the Amazon should be a universal reflection/discernment about the current reality and the future of other critical places for our planet like the Congo Basin. On October 2015 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo a consultative workshop was held on the creation of an Ecclesial Network of the Congo Basin, REBAC. There is an indivisible connection between the Amazon, and the ecclesial network REPAM and the Congo Basin and the ecclesial network REBAC… this is the way of the Spirit (prophecy) telling us where our resources, concerns, and efforts should be.

The Vincentian Family is being invited to actively participate in different initiatives that aim to develop a new ecological spirituality. This is an opportunity for us to expand our own mystic narrative in this new time. Our prophetic narrative/commitment cannot be disconnected to the reality of climate change and the efforts of so many to protect our common home (humanity/planet) from devastation. If our commitment is really with the reign of God, then our narrative of communion has to be built in profound connection with all species, with this beautiful planet, with women and men of all races, spiritual traditions, and nationalities… we are all invited to unite in what is fundamental: a new world where a dignify life is possible for all! We hope that the Amazon Synod will be another strong voice of the spirit telling us that we still have time to decide a sustainable future!

Guillermo Campuzano, CM is the Congregation of the Mission UN representative