Amazon Synod Briefing: Migration
and Inculturation
The Holy See Press Office hosts four Synod participants at a
briefing on Tuesday afternoon, and summarizes the discussions at the 11th
General Congregation of the Synod for the Amazon, attended by 180 Synod Fathers
together with Pope Francis.
By Vatican News
The Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communications, Dr
Paolo Ruffini, opened the briefing by announcing the four members named by the
Pope to the Commission responsible for drafting the final document of the
Synod. They are: Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Bishop Marcelo Sánchez
Sorondo, Archbishop Edmundo Ponciano Valenzuela Mellid, and Fr Rossano Sala.
Summary by Dr Ruffini
Dr Ruffini went on to summarize the topics that emerged
during the morning’s 11th General Congregation. These included
the question of ecumenism and its connection to evangelization. He confirmed
the Synod Fathers had rejected the idea of both “inter-Christian colonialism”
and “proselytism”, quoting Benedict XVI as saying “the Church grows through
attraction”.
The need for a Pan-Amazon educational network was also
discussed, said Dr Ruffini, an “integral education” that is conducted “through
dialogue and respect for cultures”.
The issue of finding points of convergence was also
mentioned, he said, in terms of complementary and reciprocity between human
beings and creation.
Dr Ruffini quoted the indigenous term for “knowing yourself”
as being a “good starting point” in finding connections among cultures. Synod
participants, he said, are aware their interventions are raising a series of
issues that go beyond the local dimension of the Amazon Region and are
applicable to all the world.
Comments by Fr Costa
Jesuit Fr Giacomo Costa is Secretary of the Information
Commission for the Synod. He noted that the topic of “synodality” had been
referenced in terms of “proximity”, “walking together”, and “reaching out”.
Synod participants also spoke about the need for building
better ties among dioceses and religious congregations, he said. They
highlighted how religious life could promote interculturality using an
inter-congregational approach, he said. According to participants, there is
also the need for a “new relational style that must have an impact on local
communities”.
There were renewed calls in the Synod Hall for some kind of
“permanent ecclesiastical organization” in the post-synodal phase, said Fr
Costa. This could include an “observatory for human rights” to help provide
integral scientific and human education”.
Fr Costa noted how the Synod recognized the contribution of
REPAM, the Pan-Amazon Church network, which provided both support and a podium
where people could express themselves.
Finally, Fr Costa related the request to canonize the Amazon
martyrs, as expressed during the morning Congregation. According to the
proposal, recognizing the martyrs would show how the Gospel is rooted in
everyday engagement with the region. It would also help build the “rationality
of being gift” and pass on “life-promoting signs” for the region, he said.
Dr Marcia Maria Oliveira (Brazil)
Dr Marcia Maria Oliveira is an expert on the history of the
Church in Amazonia and on Amazonian culture. She explained her contribution to
the Synod as offering her expertise in the areas of human trafficking, internal
migration and the movement of indigenous people. We need to consider migration
issues as “essential”, she said, because “they involve pastoral issues too”.
Fr Sidney Dornelas, C.S. (Argentina)
Fr Sidney Dornelas, C.S., is a Scalabrini missionary and
Director of CEMLA, the Centre for Latin American Studies on Migration. He said
the topic of migration is already present in the Synod Working Document. Many
of the crises we have faced over the past 10 years have emerged because of
migration flows, he added.
Fr Dornelas mentioned migrants from Haiti, in particular,
saying the Church provides whatever assistance she can. The Pan-Amazonian
Region is also a migrant corridor, he explained, which well illustrates the
“existential peripheries” described by Pope Francis.
We need to promote better cooperation among the churches and
missionary institutes, he said, in order to confront the very different
pastoral realities of the region.
Bishop Eugenio Coter, of Tibiuca (Bolivia)
Bishop Eugenio Coter has spent the past 28 years in Bolivia,
6 of them on the border with Brazil and Peru. He sees signs of hope in this
Synod, he said, in the indigenous people present, and in the fact of placing
the Amazon Region at the centre of attention. Too little is known about the
difficulties and challenges of the region, he added.
Bishop Coter described the Synod for the Amazon as “a moment
of light” that confirms we are not walking alone but are part of the Universal
Church. This gives us strength, he said.
Bishop Rafael Alfonso Escudero Lòpez-Brea, of Moyobamba
(Peru)
Bishop Rafael Alfonso Escudero Lòpez-Brea works in the
eastern part of Peru where 25% of the population comes from the Andes.
He said he appreciated the value given to relationships at
this Synod, the sharing, and the listening to the voice of the Amazon through
those who have come from this Region.
The model of evangelization Bishop Escudero Lòpez-Brea
proposes is through “teaching, preaching, and acts of charity”. He said he is
confident charisms will arise for both ordained and non-ordained ministries. It
is precisely the great commitment to evangelization in the region, he said,
that gives us hope.
A question about lessons from women
Responding to a question about what indigenous cultures can
teach us about caring for women and children, Dr Marcia Maria Oliveira stressed
the vital role women play in the Church in the Amazon Region in terms of
leadership and responsibility.
Theirs is not a power struggle, she said, but a service to
the community. Women in the Amazon Region are “custodians of the seed”, said Dr
Oliveira. They distribute goods and services and are responsible for the health
of the community. Which is why they can teach us about integral ecology and how
to practice “buen vivir” as “welcoming”.
A question about the Sacraments
Bishop Coter answered a question on how to administer the
Sacraments in the far-flung areas of the Amazon. He said this topic was being
examined in the small working groups at the Synod. One of the challenges
regards how to provide formation for individuals in remote communities. Given
the lack of priests, we need to “search for something that goes beyond
formation”, he said.
The Bishops are discussing the issue openly, he added,
encouraged by the fact the Church has dealt with these issues in past, “so we
can find solutions”.
A question about migration
Given his experience and expertise, Fr Sidney Dornelas was
invited to respond to a question about migration in the Amazon Region. While
confirming the desire of the Church to accompany migrants, he admitted there is
a lack of organization and that the Church cannot assist everyone. He gave the
example of the 150,000 people crossing the border from Venezuela and the many
who have come from Haiti.
We need to “take a step forward”, he said, and focus on
different contexts and countries, according to what he called the “levels of
emergency”. There are linguistic, cultural, and religious issues associated
with accompanying migrants, said Fr Dornelas.
Dr Marcia Maria Oliveira added that we “cannot understand
the Amazon Region without understanding migration”, as it was formed by
migrants, externally and internally.
A question about inculturation
Bishop Rafael Alfonso Escudero Lòpez-Brea chose to respond
to a journalist’s question regarding what an inculturated indigenous
Eucharistic celebration would be like. He confirmed that the Synod for the
Amazon is discussing the inculturation of the liturgy, but said that does not
mean something different from what the Church already has.
He suggested the possible introduction of “some symbols or
rites” that do not affect what is essential about the Eucharist, but that can
“enrich the celebration”, integrating the unique aspects of the indigenous
people.
Bishop Coter noted how different cultures interpret signs
differently. Which is why he suggested that a commission could be established
with persons who know "both the culture and the values of the liturgy.
They would then translate the values inherent in the liturgy through the
language, signs, gestures and music", thus giving the liturgy an “Amazon
face”.
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