Beloved Amazon

Last year I wrote about the synod or symposium concerning the countries and peoples of the Amazon Basin convened by Pope Francis in Rome. It was a signficant gathering over two weeks which included Indigenous representatives. It became controversial amongst those who perceived Christianity and Roman Catholicism in disturbingly racist and colonialist ways. Francis himself was receptive and celebrated the Indigenous expressions of faith which critics decried as pagan.Some of the devotional sculptures brought by Indigenous residents of the region were stolen and dumped in the nearby Tiber river, although they were later recovered. 

Francis recently issued a post-synodal exhortation,  called Querida Amazonia, which translates as "the beloved Amazon". In it he identifies four dreams for the future of the region which to my mind are powerful, and should be taken seriously by every Christian, regardless of background. 

These are the dreams, the four major sections of the exhortation:

I dream of an Amazon region that fights for the rights of the poor, the original peoples and the least of our brothers and sisters, where their voices can be heard and their dignity advanced.

I dream of an Amazon region that can preserve its distinctive cultural riches, where the beauty of our humanity shines forth in so many varied ways.

I dream of an Amazon region that can jealously preserve its overwhelming natural beauty and the superabundant life teeming in its rivers and forests.

I dream of Christian communities capable of generous commitment, incarnate in the Amazon region, and giving the Church new faces with Amazonian features. 

I hope that Pope Francis' influence can help bring to fruition aspects of these Godly, just, and compassionate dreams. I feel that his commitment to care for Creation in the Amazon is exemplary. He is a true Groundling! God knows he'll have a challenging time in doing so, even within his own church.