Amazon Synod Briefing: Women,
Ecumenism, and Martyrs
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| AmazonSynod Briefing |
The Synod of Bishops for the Amazon enters its closing phase
with Synod Fathers expected to vote on the final document on Saturday
afternoon. Meanwhile, in the Holy See Press Office, five participants share
their perspectives on a variety of issues: from the role of women, to ecumenism
in the Amazon.
By Vatican News
Over the past three weeks, the daily press briefings have
provided an opportunity to hear, first-hand, the experiences and reactions of
Synod participants coming from, or engaged in, the Amazon Region.
Sr Inés Azucena Zambrano Jara, MMI
Sr Inés Azucena Zambrano Jara is a Missionary Sister of Mary
Immaculate, originally from Ecuador, but working in Colombia. As a woman at the
Synod, she said she felt “trusted and heard”. Sr Inés described the atmosphere
at the Synod as one of “active listening… to God, the Amazon, the people, and
the pain of mother earth”.
Sr Inés said the women participating at the Synod were
calling themselves the “Synod Mothers”, reflecting the sense of family and
belonging.
Her hopes for after the Synod include “building an
indigenous Church with an Amazonian face – and an Amazonian heart”. To do so,
we need “to deepen indigenous theology and listen to the poor”, she said.
Learning local languages is important because it allows us to enter the
indigenous spiritual experience, she added. While continuing to work for the
protection of their rights, we need to recognize that indigenous people are
asking to “stand on their own two feet”, she said.
Fr Miguel Heinz, SVD
Fr Miguel Heinz, SVD, is a Divine Word Missionary and
President of Adveniat, the German bishops’ relief agency for Latin America that
helps “build bridges”, funding educational and human rights projects, among
others.
We cannot separate integral ecology from our lifestyles,
said Fr Heinz. This means supporting nature and people, above all, he added. Fr
Heinz confirmed that Latin America “has made great progress” since the Second
Vatican Council, “setting an example” in understanding how to live “a new way
of being Church”.
Rev. Nicolau Nascimento de Paiva
Reverend Nicolau Nascimento de Paiva is a pastor of the
Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil. He is currently
President of the Amazonian Council of Christian Churches, and is one of the
“fraternal delegates” invited to attend the Synod.
He spoke of his personal familiarity with the ecumenical
movement in the Amazon Region, where there is “mutual respect for different
ideas”. There are more things that unite us than divide us, he said. Which is
why we need to work on shared issues from a faith perspective: integral
ecology, social, political, and economic questions. Taking care of our common
home is everyone’s task, he added.
Bishop Evaristo Pascoal Spengler, OFM
Bishop Evaristo Pascoal Spengler comes from Marajó, “an
archipelago comprising thousands of islands”, in Brazil. His presentation
focused on what he called “the decisive presence of women in the early history
of the Church”. “God employs women in salvation history”, he said, and gave the
examples of women prophets, judges, saints, and doctors of the Church.
Bishop Spengler said over 60% of communities in the Amazon
Region are led by women, serving as catechists, ministers of the Word and of
the Eucharist, especially in areas where priests are able to visit “less than
twice a year”. The ordination of male deacons “could be useful”, he added, to
create a “Church of presence”. The role of women too “must be expanded upon”,
said the Bishop, citing Saint Paul who refers to women deacons in his letters.
Bishop Spengler referred to the amendment made to the Code
of Canon Law by Benedict XVI [in the 2009 Motu proprio, Omnium
in mentem, Art. 2], in which the diaconal mission of serving the People of
God “in the ministries of the liturgy, the word, and charity”, is separate from
that of the episcopat and the presbyterate whose mission is that of acting
"in the person of Chirst". This allows an opening for a path to the
female diaconate, he said.
Bishop Joaquín Humberto Pinzón Güiza IMC
Bishop Joaquín Humberto Pinzón Güiza is a Consolata
Missionary and Apostolic Vicar of Puerto Leguizamo-Solano in Colombia. Through
this synod, “our Amazonian communities feel they are at the heart of the Church
and of all people”, he said.
The Bishop stressed the connection between indigenous people
and the concept of “buen vivir” (“good living”). For them, “buen vivir”
includes integral ecology, “an invitation to universal fraternity”, said Bishop
Pinzón Güiza. For indigenous people it means “something real”: keeping Amazonia
healthy, protecting it from exploitation. Living in a healthy land allows
indigenous people “to recognize God the Creator” and to “take care of the
earth”, said the Bishop.
A question about communication
Responding to a question about how the Synod has been
communicated, particularly with reference to the ceremony in the Vatican
Gardens on 4 October, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, Dr Paolo
Ruffini, again stated that “no ritual” had taken place.
Lutheran pastor Nicolau Nascimento de Paiva, confirmed how,
in the Amazon Region, “communication depends on context”, and how many people
must be taught how to read before they can be introduced to the Bible. He
reiterated the mutual respect felt among Christian confessions and indigenous
people, saying it “has an impact on their lives, stimulates communication,
becomes an opportunity for learning, and enriches exchange”.
A question about lessons learned
Sister Inés was asked what she learned at this Synod. She
replied listing the great cultural riches and diverse spiritual realities. She
confirmed the variety of issues facing the Amazon Region, from exploitation to
migration. Most importantly, she learned to share a common objective, “to
listen and to be united for the same cause”, she said.
Father Heinz added he had learned something about the
pressure brought to bear “on those who are protecting the indigenous people”.
He said it was “emotional” to be among people who are threatened and risk being
killed for defending their rights.
A question about challenges facing indigenous people
Asked how the Church addresses the problems facing
indigenous people, Sister Inés gave her testimony as a woman religious, saying
her charism is to accompany indigenous people in the face of injustice and
racism, but also to empower them to be protagonists. Indigenous people are very
responsible, with clear public policies, she said. They are already saying: “It
is our turn”.
A question about ecumenical dialogue
Lutheran pastor Nicolau Nascimento de Paiva responded to a
question about how the Synod can advance ecumenical dialogue in the Amazon. We
are united already through “learning, prayer, exchange and shared experience”,
he said. The churches in the region collaborate on a variety of issues,
including working with migrants coming from the countryside to the cities,
welcoming them and responding to their basic needs.
Bishop Joaquín Pinzón Güiza added how “the common commitment
to finding new paths for the Church and integral ecology can unite us”. Caring
for our common home “has allowed us to enter dialogue with other denominations
and to decide on future actions”, he said.
A question about an Amazonian rite
The Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, Dr Paolo
Ruffini, responded to a journalist’s question regarding the adoption of an
Amazonian rite. He clarified that “something this complex cannot be contained
in a single paragraph, if there is one”. Discussion at the Synod concerning an
Amazonian rite, he continued, was simply “a step in that direction”
The Secretary of the Synod Information Commission, Jesuit Fr
Giacomo Costa, added that “many conditions” would apply for such a rite, and
that, in any event, “it is the Holy Father who has the final word”.
A question about Amazon martyrs
Finally, Fr Miguel Heinz answered a question about the
Amazon martyrs. Their images were displayed throughout the proceedings in the
Synod Hall, and this meant, “they were always present”, said Fr Heinz. The
martyrs of the Amazon “gave witness to God with their lives”, and the Synod
expressed great sensitivity towards this topic, he said.
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