Cardinal Czerny: Love the Amazon
and its people to save the planet
 |
| Cardinal Michael Czerny |
The Special Secretary of the Synod for the Amazon presents
the exhortation that the Pope completed last December, which is being published
today. It contains four great "dreams" of Francis for the region,
including that of a missionary Church with an Amazonian face.
By Alessandro De Carolis & Francesco Valiante
"The destiny of the Amazon affects us all, because
everything is connected and the salvation of this region and its original
peoples is fundamental for the whole world.”
Cardinal Michael Czerny, special secretary of the Synod for
the Amazon, in this interview with Vatican Media, presents the main content of
Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation:
Q: First of all Your Eminence, a word on the timing
of the publication of this text by the Pope, who had said it would be ready by
the end of the year. Were there any delays regarding the date he mentioned?
In his speech at the conclusion of the Synod, the Holy
Father said: "A word from the Pope on what he experienced during the Synod
can do some good. I would like to say it before the end of the year, so that
not too much time goes by". In fact, that’s what happened. As promised,
Pope Francis delivered the final text of his Post-Synodal Exhortation on 27
December, so before the end of 2019. After that there were the usual essential
steps that take time: the document was reviewed, formatted and translated into
different languages, and now it is finally published.
Q: What is the heart of the message of the
exhortation, in your opinion?
The title of the Exhortation is Querida Amazonía,
“Beloved Amazonia”, and its heart is the Pope's love for the Amazon and the
consequences of that love: a reversal of the common way of thinking about the
relationship between wealth and poverty, between development and custody,
between defending cultural roots and openness to the other. The Pope describes
for us the "resonances" that the synodal process provoked in him. He
does so in the form of four "great dreams". Pope Francis dreams that
in the Amazon region there might be a commitment on the part of everyone to
defend the rights of the poorest, of the original peoples, of the least. He
dreams of an Amazon that preserves its cultural wealth. His ecological dream is
of an Amazon that takes care of its abundance of life. Finally, he dreams of
Christian communities capable of incarnating themselves in the Amazon and of
building a Church with an Amazonian face. Personally, I was struck by the
abundance of poetic quotations and of references to previous papal texts.
Q: Isn't there a risk that the "dream"
might appear to be an unrealistic perspective projected onto an indefinite
future?
Not for Pope Francis. I would like to recall the words he
spoke in dialogue with young people at the Circus Maximus on August 11, 2018:
"Dreams are important. They keep our view broad; they help us to embrace
the horizon, to cultivate hope in every daily action. ... Dreams awaken
you; they sweep you away; they are the most luminous stars, those that indicate
a different path for humanity.... The Bible tells us that great
dreams are those capable of being fruitful". So, to answer your question,
I think that this way of looking at it and this perspective are completely
unlike an unrealistic or utopian perspective. The dream here is the indication
of a path that eventually the whole Church has to take. Its beauty lies
precisely in seeing a horizon, not in dictating a series of precepts. No
declaration of love takes the form of a contract or a cookbook.
In the first chapter, the one dedicated to the social dream,
considering the environmental devastation of the Amazon and the threats to the
human dignity of its peoples, which Pope Benedict XVI had already
denounced, Pope Francis invites us to be indignant. He says, "We need to
feel outrage", because "it is not good for us to become inured to
evil". He invites us to build networks of solidarity and development that
surpass the various colonial mentalities. He invites us to seek alternatives in
several areas such as sustainable breeding and agriculture, forms of energy
that do not pollute, and entrepreneurial initiatives that do not involve the
destruction of the environment and cultures. In short, these "great
dreams" are not meant to anesthetize us but are rather to be nourished by
concrete and daily action.
Q: Concretely speaking, what does
"promoting" the Amazon mean, as we read in the text of the
Exhortation?
As the Pope explains, promoting the Amazon means making sure
that from it flows the very best. It means not to colonize it, not to plunder
it with massive mining projects that destroy the environment and threaten the
indigenous peoples. At the same time, however, it also means to avoid
mythologizing the native cultures, excluding any intermingling, or falling into
an environmentalism "that is concerned for the biome but ignores the
Amazonian peoples". Identity and dialogue are two key words, and Pope
Francis explains that they are not at all opposed. Caring about the cultural
values of the indigenous peoples concerns us all: we must feel co-responsible
for the diversity of their cultures.
From the pages of the Exhortation, the Christian commitment
also clearly emerges, which is far from either a closed nativism or an
environmentalism that despises human beings as the ruin of the planet. In
addition, it proposes a bold missionary spirit – to speak of Jesus and to bring
his offer of new life to others – life to the full each one and for everyone,
taking care of creation, in relationship with God the Creator and with all our
brothers and sisters.
Q: Why should the destiny of a particular region on
earth touch us so deeply?
The fate of the Amazon affects us all, because everything is
interconnected and the care of this precious "biome", which acts as a
filter and helps us to avoid raising the earth’s temperature, is fundamental to
the health of the global climate. The Amazon, therefore, concerns us all directly.
In that region of the world, we see the importance of an integral ecology which
combines respect for nature with care for human dignity. The Amazon’s future
and the future of its peoples are decisive for maintaining the balance of our
planet. In this perspective, it is important to allow indigenous peoples to
remain on their territories and to take care of their lands. The educational
aspect is also of primary importance: to promote new behaviours and new
attitudes in people. Many people living in that area have assumed the typical
customs of the big cities where consumerism and a throw-away culture reign.
Q: Regarding the fourth chapter and the
"ecclesial" dream: What struck you about this final part of the
Exhortation?
It is half the Exhortation, so when Pope Francis says that
the pastoral dimension is the essential, that it includes everything, he
clearly means it. I was struck above all by the missionary perspective: without
the "impassioned proclamation" of the Gospel, ecclesial projects risk
becoming indistinguishable from secular NGOs. The Pope explains that commitment
in defence of the poor, the least and the indigenous peoples implies witnessing
to Jesus and proposing friendship with Him. The social message includes the
proclamation of the Gospel, and its nucleus, the kerygma, includes
human life, human dignity, justice, and care of the common home. It proclaims a
God who infinitely loves every human being and who sacrificed His Son, Christ
crucified, for our salvation.
Q: A recurring word in the chapter is
"inculturation"...
By proclaiming and witnessing to the Gospel, everything that
is good and beautiful produced by every culture is valued, bringing it to
fullness in the light of the Christian faith. The Gospel is always proclaimed
in a particular place, and thus the seed is sown. At the same time, the Church
learns and enriches itself by coming into contact with what the Spirit has
already sown in that particular culture. The Pope asks that the voice of the
elderly be heard and that the values present in the original communities be
recognized. Indeed, indigenous peoples teach us to be sober, content with
little, and to sense the need to be immersed in a communal way of living our
lives. Inculturation also means knowing how to accept some pre-existing aboriginal
symbol without immediately branding it as a pagan error. Symbols, customs and
cultures continuously need purification and maturation. But those who truly
have the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ at heart seek to respond to
the aspirations of peoples through an inculturated spirituality.
Q: A topic debated at the Synod concerned the scarcity of
priests for such a vast territory as that of the Amazonia and the difficulty
for many communities to have Eucharistic celebrations. What directions does the
Exhortation suggest in this regard?
The Pope expresses the need for people to make themselves
available to serve in order to increase the frequency of Eucharistic
celebrations, especially in the remotest areas. The Pope reminds us not to
configure the exercise of the priestly ministry in a monolithic manner.
However, only the priest can consecrate the Eucharist and can administer the
Sacrament of Reconciliation. This urgent need is at the origin of Pope
Francis's appeal to all bishops that, in addition to praying for vocations,
they might be more generous in choosing to send to the Amazon those who
demonstrate a missionary vocation. It is also necessary to design formation
that enables dialogue with native cultures. There should be many more permanent
deacons, and the role of women religious and laity needs to be further
developed.
Q: The Exhortation, however, contains no openness to the
possibility of ordaining married men...
Pope Francis has remained faithful to what he said prior the
Synod. The possibility of ordaining married men can be discussed by the Church.
It already exists, for example, in the Eastern Churches. This discussion has
been going on for many centuries, and the Synod freely addressed it, not in
isolation, but in the full context of the Church’s Eucharistic and ministerial
life. The Pope states in the Exhortation that the question is not that of
numbers, and that a greater presence of priests is not the only requirement.
What is needed is new life in the communities, a new missionary impetus, new
lay services, ongoing formation, boldness and creativity. What is needed is a
presence at the local level of lay people who are animated by a missionary
spirit and capable of representing the authentic face of the Amazonian Church.
This, he seems to indicate, is the only way that vocations will return. The
Amazon challenges us, the Pope writes, to overcome limited perspectives and not
to content ourselves with solutions that address only part of the situation. In
other words, the great question is a renewed experience of faith and
evangelization.
Q: What about the role of women?
The Pope recalls in the text that there are communities in
the Amazon that for decades have transmitted the faith without priests, thanks
to strong and generous women who, driven by the Holy Spirit, have baptized,
taught the catechism and taught people how to pray. We need to broaden our
perspective and not think just “functionally” of a more significant role for
women only if linked to access to the Holy Orders. It is a perspective that
would lead us to clericalize women, ending up impoverishing their fundamental
contribution. We must read this within the extensive magisterium of Pope
Francis, who stresses the need to separate power from the priestly ministry,
since this combination is at the origin of clericalism.
This relationship between ministry and power is what leaves
women without a voice, without rights and often without the possibility to
decide. So it is not a question of giving them access to an ordained ministry
in order to have them gain a voice and a vote, but of separating power from
ministry. On the other hand, we must be inspired by their example, which
reminds us that power in the Church is that of service, generosity and freedom.
The emergence of other services and charisms of women must be stimulated. The
Pope says that women should have access to ecclesial functions and services
that do not require Holy Orders; and that such functions and services should be
stable and publicly recognized with a mandate from the bishop. Perhaps it is
time to review the lay ministries already existing in the Church, return to
their foundations and update them by reading them in the light of current
reality and the inspiration of the Spirit, and at the same time to create other
new stable ministries with "public recognition and a commission from the
bishop".
Q: One last question: what is the relationship between
the Exhortation and the Synod’s Final Document?
In the introduction to the Post-Synodal Apostolic
Exhortation, the Pope explains that he does not want to replace or repeat that
document. He presents it officially. He invites us to read it in its entirety.
He prays that the whole Church will allow itself to be enriched and challenged
by this work. He asks that all pastors, consecrated persons and lay faithful in
the Amazon commit themselves to its application, and lastly, that all people of
good will be inspired by the Final Document and, certainly, by the
beautiful Querida Amazonia.
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