Leticia and Tabatinga are two cities that are united, despite belonging to two different countries. The first is Colombian and the second is Brazilian. However, both are part of the Amazon region.
Sunday mornings, many prepare to go to Mass in the Catholic parish. Even while walking in the streets of Tabatinga, there is also a big evangelical presence. Some of these churches are classified as “sects.”
The city of Tabatinga and the indigenous community of Umariaçu have essentially become a single population. The city has grown so much that it has reached the indigenous territory. As a result, Umariaçu has become an urban indigenous border community
Jesuit Fr. Valerio knows the area very well. He lives in Leticia, Colombia. However, when the neighboring communities need him, he travels to celebrate Sunday Mass. On this occasion, he went to Brazil, to Umariaçu 1. Umariaçu 2 is the other part of the community where there are few Catholics. This is because most of the people have become evangelicals.
FR. VALERIO PAULO SARTOR
Jesuit
“The diminishing presence of the Church has caused other churches to enter the indigenous communities.”
“It is a problem that begins to divide the community. This is because some are Catholic, whilst others are part of sects or churches with pastors who only threaten them with hell; and do not allow them to continue practicing their culture. This divides the community and even families.”
In Umariaçu 1 there is Mass every two weeks. The rest of the Sundays, the community listens to the Gospel. This time there is a Mass, as the priest is present. For more than an hour the loudspeakers announce the arrival of Fr. Valerio. The Mass begins in Portuguese, as well as the Ticuna language.
It is a church with an indigenous face that wants to be understood by the Synod in Rome.
FR. VALERIO PAULO SARTOR
Jesuit
“The Church works in a different way here, perhaps it doesn't have all the rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. However, one can still celebrate life, Jesus the mystery of God is celebrated in a different way. This does not mean that because we celebrate differently, the centrality of the Christian faith is lost. One does not lose the centrality of the Mystery, one does not lose the centrality of the presence of Jesus. That's why the synod has to look affectionately, with a different view. The Church in the Amazon cannot be equated with the Church in Europe. It is different. It is not another Church; it is different.”
This Brazilian Jesuit is also part of the Pan-Amazonian Jesuit Service and the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network. As a frontier priest, Fr. Valerio has contact with communities in Brazil and Colombia, such as this one in Monilla Amena. Here, Yucuna and Huitoto ethnic groups live together.
Almost all its members are baptized Catholics, and there are some evangelical families.
Maloca is a place for spiritual and community life. Last February a meeting promoted by REPAM was held there. Fr. Valerio was present during the meeting with heads of different indigenous communities to consult about the challenges facing survival in the Amazon region. Several members of Elver's community also participated in the meeting. During it, they drew some conclusions for the October meeting in Rome.
ELVER ISIDIO
Monilla Amena Community
“We want our struggles to be made known at the synod. We want them to know how we fight for our lives, for our coexistence with the environment, for our territory. This is important for us: to make ourselves visible and to restore what has been lost. To ensure our way of life is respected and that we do not repeat many forms of violence, many invasions suffered by indigenous peoples, and a loss of identity.”
They send these petitions to the pope and to bishops for the synod. They want the Church to continue to accompany them, as it has done in the past. They want the Church to defend their rights and help give voice where they haven't been heard before, as they continue to develop.
