Latin American church leaders call for church with 'Amazonian face'

Lima, Peru

Latin American church leaders apologized for historical complicity with colonial atrocities in the Amazon and called for a church with an "Amazonian face" in a pastoral letter issued as negotiators from around the world met for a climate summit here.

"The exploitation of the Amazon through mining, the expansion of farming and ranching, road construction, hydroelectric dams and timber companies demand that the church take a more prophetic stance," they wrote.

The letter marks the public launch of a pan-Amazonian network meant to connect pastoral workers throughout the nine-country watershed. The Latin American bishops' council (CELAM), the Brazilian bishops, the region's Caritas humanitarian network and the regional conference of religious are leading the effort.

The letter reflects concern about the Amazon and its people that was expressed by the region's bishops at a conference in Aparecida, Brazil, in 2007 and was echoed by Pope Francis on his visit to that country in July 2013.

"We are concerned that 23 percent of the Amazon region is deforested, and that figure is growing," Peruvian Archbishop Pedro Barreto Jimeno, president of CELAM's justice and solidarity department, told Catholic News Service.

As the region's countries turn to mining, oil and gas production and logging to drive their growing economies, the church is speaking out against "a vision that puts profit first," Barreto said. "It is not only unjust, it is an offense against God."

The church leaders issued their letter as thousands of negotiators from 195 countries gathered here for a U.N. climate summit to hammer out details of a new international agreement to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

In Amazonian countries, deforestation is the major source of greenhouse gas emissions. About half of the region's forests are in protected areas or indigenous territories, but studies show that even those areas face threats.

Indigenous leaders attending the summit repeatedly called for stronger legal rights to their territories, to help protect them, and called attention to the murder of indigenous people who were defending their land.

Originally posted here:
Latin American church leaders call for church with 'Amazonian face'