With this Mass Sunday morning in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis inaugurated the Synod on the Amazon.
Representatives of indigenous peoples actively participated. Some of them will also attend the closed discussions in the synod hall.
The Synod proposes looking at indigenous traditions with respect and without imposition, in order to bring the Gospel to the Amazon.
POPE FRANCIS
“May God preserve us from the greed of new forms of colonialism. The fire set by interests that destroy, like the fire that recently devastated Amazon, is not the fire of the Gospel. The fire of God is warmth that attracts and gathers into unity.”
The pope spoke off the cuff to remember missionaries who have died in the Amazon over the centuries.
POPE FRANCIS
“I would like to repeat here the words of our beloved Cardinal Hummes. When he arrives in those little towns of Amazonia, he goes to the cemetery to visit the tombs of missionaries. It is a gesture on the Church’s behalf for those who gave their lives in Amazonia.”
All the bishops who convened for the Synod participated in the ceremony. Of these, 113 work in the Amazon. They know the problems and the challenges the area faces, and expect to return with measures to address them.
Javier Martínez-Brocal
Translated: Carina Anderson
