The Peruvian cardinal emphasizes that Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Peru represents an opportunity to renew the Church’s commitment to indigenous peoples, the defense of their territories, and the building of a more just and fraternal society. He also recognizes the continuity between the two pontificates as a driving force to continue moving toward a synodal Church that is close to and committed to the Amazon.
In the context of Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic visit to Peru, Cardinal Pedro Barreto Jimeno—Archbishop Emeritus of Huancayo, former president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), and one of the leading advocates of the Amazonian ecclesial process—reflected on the challenges facing the Church in the country and the continuity of the synodal journey begun during Pope Francis’s pontificate.
In an interview with Fides News Agency, Cardinal Barreto noted that the Pontiff’s arrival represents an opportunity to renew hope, strengthen the commitment to evangelization, and promote a Church that listens, accompanies, and defends the dignity of people, especially those living in situations of greater vulnerability.
“His visit to Peru will be an outpouring of love, hope, and renewal,” he said, highlighting the pastoral bond that unites Pope Leo XIV with the Peruvian people, particularly with the communities in the north of the country, where he spent much of his missionary career as an Augustinian friar and bishop of Chiclayo.
Francis and Leo XIV: One Mission, a Church on the Move
One of the central aspects of his reflection is the continuity between the pontificates of Francis and Leo XIV. For Cardinal Barreto, this relationship constitutes “a gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church,” as both share the same determination: to follow Jesus Christ and to renew the life and evangelizing mission of the Church.
“They do not compete. They complement one another. One sows the Word of God; the other continues to sow it, and God causes it to bear fruit in the Church. That is the most authentic unity in diversity!” he affirmed.
This continuity takes on special significance for the Amazonian Church, whose process of listening, discernment, and pastoral conversion received a fundamental boost during Pope Francis’s pontificate. For Barreto, Pope Leo XIV builds on this experience and is called to deepen its fruits within the context of a Church that is increasingly synodal and committed to the realities of the people.
The Amazon: A Pastoral Option That Endures
The cardinal recalled that the creation of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM) on September 13, 2014, and subsequently of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) on June 29, 2020, were concrete expressions of the Church’s commitment to the Amazonian peoples and their territories.
While REPAM fosters coordination and pastoral accompaniment of Amazonian communities, CEAMA promotes new paths of evangelization rooted in the region’s identity, cultural diversity, and specific realities.
In this regard, he highlighted the importance of the Special Synod for the Amazon, held in Rome in October 2019, and of the apostolic exhortation *Querida Amazonia*, published in February 2020. These events marked a new era of ecclesial renewal that allowed the Amazonian Church to contribute its experiences and lessons learned to the synodal journey of the entire universal Church.
“This is Francis’s principal legacy, and one that Leo XIV continues and deepens,” he noted.
Pucallpa: Listening to the Peoples and Defending Life and Territory
For Cardinal Barreto, Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Pucallpa, scheduled for November 15, represents a significant sign of continuity with the Church’s commitment to the Amazon.
The meeting will be an opportunity to listen to the voices, concerns, and hopes of indigenous peoples, as well as to highlight the threats facing their territories, including deforestation, illegal mining, and various forms of violence and rights violations.
Barreto also drew attention to the situation of indigenous children and adolescents, recalling in particular the cases of sexual violence against girls from the Awajún and Wampis peoples in Condorcanqui. These realities, he affirmed, call upon the Church and all of society to fulfill their responsibility to protect life and human dignity.
He also recalled Pope Francis’s visit to Puerto Maldonado in January 2018, when the Pope recognized indigenous peoples as “heroic guardians of the Amazon biome” and called on people to approach the Amazon with respect, acknowledging its sacred value and the wisdom of those who inhabit it.
A Church That Listens, Discerns, and Acts
Referring to Pope Leo XIV’s pastoral experience in Peru, the cardinal highlighted the Pontiff’s years of closeness to the country’s communities—a journey that can help strengthen a missionary Church that is sensitive to social realities and committed to those who suffer the most.
In a context marked by insecurity, corruption, inequality, and polarization, Barreto believes that the apostolic visit can open paths to dialogue, reconciliation, and commitment to the common good.
His call is also directed at those who hold political, economic, and social responsibilities, reminding them that all authority must be at the service of human dignity and the building of a more just society.
From the perspective of the Amazonian Church, these reflections reaffirm the importance of continuing to walk together, strengthening synodality, defending Indigenous peoples, and caring for our Common Home.
The continuity between Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV invites us to recognize that the Amazonian synodal journey remains a living and shared endeavor. A Church that listens to the cry of the peoples, accompanies their struggles and hopes, and works for a peace that disarms and liberates.