Pope Francis met with one of the most active Amazonian leaders. Raoni Metuktire, leader of the Kayapó people, came to the Vatican with his son.
POPE FRANCIS
'It's a pleasure, a pleasure to greet you and to receive you'.
The pope wanted to exchange points of view with Raoni and lay groundwork for the upcoming October Amazon Synod.
“Here is the entire Amazon. Here is the town of Raoni. It is here; it is here, and the village of Tapí.”
“Here you can see the deforestation. All of this. The zone that is still healthy is the one they protect.”
As a gift, the indigenous leader gave Pope Francis his biography. The pope in return gave him some medals and documents relating to his pontificate.
Pope Francis affectionately bid him farewell.
'Take care.'
He also hugged him.
For decades, Raoni has been traveling all over the world to raise awareness about the danger of deforestation in the Amazon.
Throughout all of this campaigning, he has been supported by former French president Jacques Chirac and musician “Sting”.
