Christians called to responsibility for the common good and peace
The Pontifical Lateran University hosted the Jubilee Day “Christians in International Forums”, an event promoted by the Secretariat of State, the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, and the Redemptor Hominis Institute, within the framework of the VI Forum of Catholic-inspired NGOs. More than 180 participants, representing 90 organizations from 32 countries, gathered to reflect on the role of Christians in global public life at a historic moment marked by social, environmental, and humanitarian crises.
In this context, the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) participated through the testimony of Sister Laura Vicuña, an indigenous member of the Kariri people and vice president of CEAMA, who presented the Church’s mission in defense of the Karipuna people of Brazil and, through this case, Christian responsibility in the face of the socio-environmental crisis affecting the Amazon.
An event to affirm that Christian commitment is a “task of baptism”
The day opened with words from Linda Ghisoni, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, who emphasized that the socio-political commitment of Christians “is not an option or a choice, but a task rooted in baptism.” The presence of Christians in global spaces, she said, must be guided by unity of life, the centrality of the human person, the defense of human dignity, and the building of peace.
For CEAMA, these words resonate deeply with the Amazonian experience: faith cannot be separated from the care of life, the defense of peoples, and the protection of our Common Home.
The Amazonian voice in Rome: the testimony of Sister Laura Vicuña
Invited as a speaker on the panel of international best practices, Sister Laura Vicuña presented the Church’s experience with the Karipuna people, one of the most threatened indigenous peoples in the Brazilian Amazon. Her intervention was one of the most moving and prophetic of the day.
“We speak from where our feet and our hearts are”
Sister Laura began by recalling that Christian witness is embodied in specific territories:
“We always speak from where our feet and our hearts are. My voice comes from the Amazon, a territory interconnected by rivers that have sustained life for more than twelve thousand years.”
From this perspective, she presented the accelerated deterioration of the region: the economy of destruction, the forced displacement of communities, extreme weather events, and the persistent denial of the socio-environmental crisis.
The Amazon as a theological place and ecclesial mission
Sister Laura explained that CEAMA—the result of the Synod for the Amazon and Querida Amazonia—is an ongoing process of synodality, a way of articulating faith and life in a wounded territory:
“CEAMA is a plural ecclesial body that is taking shape from listening to the People of God. It is a call to be a Samaritan Church that accompanies, defends life, and proclaims hope.”
The Karipuna case: a mission that unites faith, justice, and the defense of rights
The core of her intervention was the ecclesial mission alongside the Karipuna people, whose population was reduced to only eight people in the 1970s and who today face invasions by loggers, miners, and criminal organizations within their territory.
Sister Laura forcefully recalled:
“The defense of this people is not an alternative work of the Church. It is the Gospel in action. It is uniting faith and life in defense of life itself, of the land, and of rights.”
She recounted the work of territorial diagnosis, the walks of more than 160 km to record points of invasion, the death threats suffered by indigenous leaders and pastoral agents, and the legal and international advocacy actions that have achieved concrete results:
- enforcement operations,
- arrests,
- reduction of deforestation,
- strengthening of public health and education policies,
- and international recognition of the Karipuna people.
“Without synodality there is no integral ecology”
One of Sister Laura’s most profound contributions was her reflection on the reciprocity between synodality and integral ecology:
“The Amazonian experience reminds us that without synodality there is no integral ecology, and without integral ecology, synodality is meaningless.”
The Amazon, she said, is not only a biome to be protected, but also an ecclesial face that offers the universal Church a path of conversion, care, participation, and shared mission.
A message that challenges the international community
Sister Laura’s presence at this event reaffirms CEAMA’s unique contribution in global spaces: a voice that emerges from the territories, from the vulnerable peoples, from where life is at risk and where the Church is a presence of hope.
Her intervention also echoes the call of Pope Leo XIV and recent magisterium for Christians to take an active role in public life, always oriented towards the common good, peace, and human dignity.
A Jubilee that strengthens the Amazonian mission
The Jubilee Day concluded with the passage through the Holy Door of the Basilica of St. John Lateran and the Eucharist presided over by Cardinal Kevin Farrell. For CEAMA, this jubilee passage symbolizes the affirmation of its mission: to walk alongside the peoples, to defend life, to care for our Common Home, and to strengthen a Church that listens, learns, and draws near.
The participation of Sister Laura Vicuña made it clear that the Amazon is not just a regional issue, but a key axis for understanding the spiritual, social, and ecological contribution of the Church in international forums.