At the conclusion of the 62nd General Assembly of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), held from April 15 to 24, 2026, at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, the Brazilian bishops issued two important messages addressed to the Brazilian people and the People of God. Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, OFM, Archbishop of Manaus and president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), participated in this meeting, along with other bishops from ecclesiastical jurisdictions in the Brazilian Amazon.
The Assembly brought together Brazil’s pastors at a time marked by social, ecological, and ecclesial challenges. From Aparecida, an emblematic site for the Latin American Church, the bishops renewed their commitment to a synodal, missionary Church that is close to the people’s wounds.
A Message to the Brazilian People: Defense of Life and Our Common Home
In the document titled “Mensagem ao Povo Brasileiro,” the bishops expressed concern over the situations of violence, inequality, corruption, organized crime, and democratic decline present in the country. They also highlighted the urgency of addressing misinformation, hate speech, and the abusive use of new technologies and artificial intelligence that affect social coexistence.
The text devotes special attention to the climate crisis and environmental devastation, emphasizing that all Brazilian biomes are threatened, especially the Amazon, with its peoples, forests, and waters. The bishops affirmed that neither nature nor people can be sacrificed in the name of economic models that deny the right to a good life.
Likewise, they defended the rights of indigenous peoples, quilombolas, riverine communities, and traditional communities, recalling that no legitimate solution can be built without genuine listening, participation, and respect for their inherent rights.
A Message to the People of God: A Synodal and Ministerial Church
In the second document, “Message from the Bishops of Brazil to the People of God,” the CNBB reaffirmed its evangelizing mission as a synodal Church that listens, welcomes, and serves. The bishops called for overcoming polarization and valuing the diversity of gifts, charisms, and ministries as a source of richness for ecclesial life.
They also expressed gratitude to the lay faithful, families, ordained ministers, consecrated life, and young people, recognizing in all of them a living force for evangelization. They recalled the inspiration of Pope Francis and his call to be a “Church that goes forth,” especially close to the poor and committed to the care of our Common Home.
Amazonian Presence at the Assembly
The participation of Cardinal Leonardo Steiner and other bishops from the Brazilian Amazon gave special significance to this Assembly, where central themes for the Amazon region resonated: the defense of indigenous peoples, socio-environmental justice, the protection of territories, and a Church with an Amazonian face.
From CEAMA’s perspective, these messages strengthen the synodal journey undertaken by the Church in the Amazon and reaffirm that care for creation, listening to the peoples, and the promotion of peace are inseparable dimensions of the evangelizing mission.
Hope for Brazil and for the Amazon
The bishops concluded by entrusting Brazil to the protection of Our Lady of Aparecida and by inviting everyone to build a single human family founded on justice, truth, and solidarity. For CEAMA, this call also resonates as an invitation to continue caring for the Amazon as a gift from God for all humanity.