Cardinal Hummes: stop the
predators of the Amazonian rain forest
 |
| Desforestation in the Amazon (AFP) |
In the preface to a new book published ahead of the October
Pan-Amazonian Synod of Bishops, Brazilian Cardinal Cláudio Hummes reflects on
“New models of development”, and on the dangers facing the whole of the Amazon
region.
By Vatican News
The Pan-Amazonian Synod of Bishops opens in the Vatican on
Sunday 6 October. In the preparatory document, an entire section is dedicated
to the “ecological dimension” of Amazonia. “From an environmental point of
view”, reads the document, “the Amazon…is a lung of the planet and one of the
sites of greatest biodiversity in the world”.
Colonial models of development
Cardinal Cláudio Hummes develops that theme in his
reflections, denouncing what he calls a development model “imposed by public
authorities and the interests of private companies” and that “expresses itself
as a re-edition of colonialism”.
“The Amazon forest is conceived in terms of an immense
reserve that can be exploited by industries of all kinds”, he writes. The
Cardinal describes these as “predatory activities” and warns how “with
deforestation and pollution, the immense, rich and complex biodiversity of this
living environment is lost”.
New models of development
These disastrous effects are not limited to the immediate
environment either: “as a direct consequence of these actions, thousands of
Indios are forced to migrate to the cities”, says Cardinal Hummes. Once they
arrive there, the great majority of them “are reduced to poverty…They are
discarded, thrown into the trash, in the name of progress”.
The Cardinal goes on to explain how the Synod on the Amazon
“will face the challenge of formulating and promoting new models of
development”. While the Church does not have the competence to formulate such
models, he adds, it can denounce “the evils that the current model causes, and
can indicate principles that shed light on the formulation of new models and
can stimulate their implementation and functioning”.
Disastrous consequences
When Pope Francis addressed the Brazilian Bishops in Rio de
Janeiro in 2013, he described the current model of predation in terms of people
“who have their bags ready to go, after exploiting all they have been able to
exploit", and leaving behind them a trail of destruction.
One thing is certain, concludes Cardinal Hummes: “if the
current model of development of the Amazon persists, the whole region will end
up being destroyed, with all the foreseeable disastrous consequences”.
From the book "The Synod for the Amazon"
(Cinisello Balsamo, Edizioni San Paolo, 2019)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét