At the opening of the Meeting of Bishops of the Amazon, Cardinal Pedro Barreto Jimeno, S.J., president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), delivered a message in which he emphasized episcopal fraternity and the common mission in defense of the Amazon region.
“I greet my brother bishops of the ‘Beloved Amazon,’” he said, acknowledging the presence of more than 75 ecclesiastical jurisdictions. He also had words of appreciation for Cardinals Michael Czerny, S.J., and Leonardo Steiner, O.F.M., as well as for the presidents of the episcopal conferences accompanying the process.
The cardinal said that those in attendance are called “to find ourselves in a ‘we’ that is stronger than the sum of our individualities, to strengthen our friendship in the Lord and to listen both to the cry of the earth and to the cry of the poor.”
Signs of hope
“We are called to turn the ‘signs of the times’ into ‘signs of hope,’” he said, recalling that CEAMA is the fruit of the Synod for the Amazon and a “permanent and representative body of the Catholic Church that promotes synodality in the region.” In this vein, he emphasized that the presence of the bishops is “a clear sign of their commitment as animators of the synodal process in the Amazonian Biome.”
Cardinal Barreto evoked those who marked the path of ecclesial commitment to the Amazon, especially Pope Francis, whom the indigenous peoples affectionately call “grandfather,” and Cardinal Claudio Hummes, whom he defined as “our special intercessors in the presence of God.”
He also encouraged the bishops to be open to the action of the Spirit: “Because today we are called to a more visible and effective evangelizing presence in the Amazon.”
Walking together as a Church with an Amazonian face
He also thanked the members of the Preparatory Commission; CELAM, “which welcomed us from the beginning of the synodal process in the Amazon with the creation of REPAM and which now welcomes us during these days; the Archdiocese of Bogotá; UNIMINUTO University and the Executive Secretariat of CEAMA,” for organizing this meeting, which was organized following the decision taken at the Fifth Assembly of CEAMA in Manaus in 2024.
“Let us continue, with renewed vigor, our journey together as a Church with an ‘Amazonian face,’ guided by the Holy Spirit, so that we may take up with greater determination the ‘new paths for the Church and for an integral ecology,’” Cardinal Barreto invited.
With hope, he placed the work of this meeting under the protection of the Virgin Mary, “Mother of Jesus and Queen of the Amazon,” recalling Pope Francis’ dreams for the region: an Amazon that defends the poor, preserves cultural wealth, protects nature, and has Christian communities rooted in its reality.