Amazon Synod
The Amazon Synod: Plus Tard Sera Trop Tard
It is a Society of Jesus tradition to test the validity of a teaching by the actions that it inspires. While composing , Jesuit Pope Francis was no doubt already contemplating an action to animate his breakthrough encyclical. The recently-concluded Roman Catholic Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region was just that action. At the Synod鈥檚 opening, Pope Francis called the gathering the 鈥渇irst child鈥� of .
Two and a half years of preparation led to the three week Synod which met under the title 鈥�The Amazon: New Paths for the Church and for Integral Ecology鈥�. From October 6 to 27, hundreds of bishops, priests, religious women, experts, and observers discussed how the Church might better serve the Indigenous Peoples of Amazonia and the Amazon rainforest itself. The result was a Final Document approved by the 184 voting members and issued on October 26, to which Pope Francis is expected to respond with an Apostolic Exhortation by December.
In his final Synod remarks, Pope Francis asked that people not let their attentions get absorbed into the details of ecclesiastical subjects such as the ordination of married men, the ordination of women to the permanent diaconate, and the creation of an Amazon Catholic liturgical rite, but stay focused on the big, overall themes that emerged during the Synod. This is where the 鈥渇ire鈥� of the Spirit would be manifest. At this early juncture, it appears that at least four themes arose and deeply stirred the Synod participants in their proceedings and their Final Document: listening, conversion, action, and urgency.
1. Listening
The history of Church evangelization in lands of Indigenous Peoples reveals how listening has not always translated into truly hearing. Synod delegate Bishop Medardo Del R铆o from Colombia insisted that walking together and truly hearing Indigenous Peoples 鈥渕eans trying to understand what indigenous communities need and what they want.鈥� Bishop Adriano Ciocca Vasino, Prelate of S茫o F茅lix do Araguaia, Brazil, added that 鈥淲e need to enter more deeply into their mentality,鈥� to better understand 鈥渢he soul of their spirituality.鈥� This can make genuine human and environmental insight available to the Church. As the Final Document affirms, the Church needs to listen to the 鈥渇undamental wisdom鈥� of Indigenous Peoples who have 鈥渇or thousands of years . . . taken care of their land, their waters and their forests鈥� .
2. Conversion
The Final Document candidly admits that the Church needs to 鈥渦nlearn, learn, and relearn, in order to overcome any tendency toward colonizing models that have caused harm in the past鈥� (81). This requires real conversion, a major topic in the Synod proceedings and the organizing principle for the Final Document鈥檚 four chapters. At the press briefing on October 26, Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and Special Secretary for the Amazon Synod, directed attention back to the 鈥楴ew Paths鈥� in the Synod title. With that in mind, he stated that 鈥渃onversion means change and without change, there will be no new paths鈥� . . . we will just be 鈥渞epeating what we鈥檝e done before.鈥� The Final Document reiterates: 鈥淟istening to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor and of the peoples of the Amazon with whom we walk, calls us to a true integral conversion鈥� .
3. Action
In press briefings and interviews, Synod delegates recounted how deeply they were stirred by the testimonies of Indigenous Amazonian men and women. Some delegates were brought to a frank, public acknowledgment of their complicity in rainforest destruction and a personal commitment to greater environmental awareness and simpler lifestyles. The Final Document calls for Church actions that:
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stop excessive consumption
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decrease production of solid waste
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stimulate reuse and recycling
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reduce dependence on fossil fuels, use of plastics, and consumption of meat and fish
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seek sustainable alternatives in agriculture, energy, and transportation
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divest in extractive companies
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reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases related to climate change
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promote education in integral ecology at all levels (especially a new Amazon University)
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develop new (circular) economic models
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restore the ancestral wisdom of the Indigenous Peoples
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defend the territorial rights of Indigenous Peoples
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distance the Church from the new colonizing powers
4. Urgency
A sense of urgency pervaded the testimonies of Indigenous men and women throughout the Synod. One delegate remarked that the mood was 鈥�plus tard sera trop tard鈥欌赌�later will be too late. At the final press briefing, Cardinal Czerny remarked that the ecological and human crisis is so deep that without this sense of urgency 鈥渨e鈥檙e not going to make it鈥�. This bold assertion was matched by the Final Document鈥檚 declaration that 鈥渋ntegral ecology is not one more path that the Church can choose for the future in this territory, it is the only possible path.鈥� For the Synod delegates, this urgency was not only a matter of social and ecological justice but also a matter of the soul. As Archbishop Pedro Guimar茫es from Palmas, Brazil reflected, 鈥淲hile we profess the Creed that we believe in God the creator of heaven and earth, we continue to sin against nature鈥攚ithout even questioning ourselves.鈥� For Pope Francis, this questioning is long overdue. For our Indigenous brothers and sisters, our planet, and our souls, later will surely be too late.
SES Professor Michael Schuck
黑料门University Chicago