“I asked the whole Church to live an extraordinary missionary month in October 2019”. And referring to the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region – currently being held in Rome, Pope Francis said, “a renewed Pentecost opens wide the doors of the Church, in order that no culture remain closed in on itself and no people cut off from the universal communion of the Faith…”
This Synod is a moment of ecclesial importance for the whole Church. For Francis it means, “Understanding the Amazonian reality with the eyes of a disciple, as a precondition. With the eyes of a missionary, with the love of the Holy Spirit in our hearts… He is the one who guides the process… It is on tiptoes that one has to approach the way of life of these peoples. Conversion can only happen by starting from their reality.”
Representatives from 16 indigenous peoples were present to bring the voice of their people. There were twelve special invited guests “chosen for their scientific expertise”. Among the forty women delegates, ten religious witnessed to the importance of female Consecrated Life in the Amazonia. As the region becomes a crossroads of migration, of social, economic and other forms of violence, they greatly insisted that “the preferential option for those who are poor and excluded should be renewed.”
Let Mary, Mother of the Church, help us carry this Synod in our daily and community prayer, and even more so, convert our hearts to the Gospel.
To follow the work of the Synod, interesting information is available on the internet:
https://eglisesetecologies.com (only in French)
http://amazonia-casa-comun.org/en
Sister Anne Marie Mabon