In the framework of the commemoration of the five years since the creation of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), Sister Birgit Weiler, a missionary theologian who has accompanied this process since its beginning, shares a profound reflection on the meaning of this ecclesial journey, the pastoral lessons learned, and the challenges that continue to challenge the Church in a synodal context.
A moment to remember with gratitude
“This special moment means for me to remember together the journey we have taken as a Church, the People of God, in the Amazon region, with its great potential and challenges,” says Sister Birgit. From her theological and pastoral perspective, she emphasizes that CEAMA was born as a result of the Amazon Synod, driven by the breath of the Spirit, in continuity with a process of deep and communal discernment.
In his words, the call to remember that the central objective of the Synod was to find new paths for the Church and for an integral ecology, which found coherent expression in the creation of this unprecedented Ecclesial Conference, the fruit of the discernment of the post-synodal Council.
Achievements with an Amazonian face and living synodality
Among the most significant achievements of this five-year period, the theologian highlights:
- The very existence of CEAMA as a synodal and prophetic body, rooted in the territory.
- Strengthening a Church with an Amazonian face and cultural polyhedron, just as you dreamDear Amazon.
- The prophetic defense of the lives of peoples and ecosystems, in response to the cries of the earth and the poor.
- The creation of the Amazonian University Program, which seeks to offer higher education from and for the territory.
- The consolidation of a shared ecclesial presidency, where women, indigenous peoples, religious and bishops exercise a collegial authority, oriented towards common discernment.
Furthermore, she highlights the growing visibility and participation of women in ecclesial life: “Women have much to contribute to an Amazonian synodal Church. The same goes for young people,” she points out.
Contributions to the Universal Church
The experience of CEAMA, he says, offers key lessons for the entire Church: the need to inculturate synodality, learn from indigenous peoples their ways of communal discernment, and experience a profound conversion of relationships, processes, and bonds. “A synodal Church is a Church that listens, learns, and allows itself to be transformed. A Church that does not colonize, but rather generates a culture of encounter,” he maintains.
Also remember that this walk requires “constant listening to communities, especially to the voices on the social, cultural and existential peripheries,” to discern with them the paths of the Kingdom.
A process that continues
In the pastoral and institutional sphere, Sister Birgit underlines the importance of reinforcing the circular movement between communities, local Churches, CEAMA, and back to the territory. He insists that pastoral plans must come from the hearts of the people and return to them transformed by shared discernment.
The creation of the Amazonian Rite, the active inclusion of women in discernment and decision-making, the strengthening of relations between CEAMA and REPAM, and the fight against new forms of structural violence in the territory (such as illegal mining and human trafficking), are also part of this synodal path that—she acknowledges—“requires time, humility, and perseverance.”
A Church that dreams of Francis
Finally, he celebrates that CEAMA has begun to embody the four dreams of Pope Francis in Dear Amazon: social, cultural, ecological and ecclesial; Dreams woven together, requiring communities willing to “walk in step with the Spirit, with open minds and hearts.”
From this experience, Sister Birgit reaffirms that the future of CEAMA is to continue being “A Church that walks, learns, listens and allows itself to be touched by the cries of the Amazon.”.