With the Synod for the Amazon still looming and new synodal challenges underway, the Amazonian bishops are preparing for a long-awaited event: the Meeting of Bishops of the Amazon, convened by the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), which will take place from August 17 to 20 in Bogotá, Colombia.
Bishop Celmo Lazzari, bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Napo (Ecuador), clearly expresses the profound meaning of this convocation: a necessary moment to collectively resume the path begun by the 2019 Synod.
“Participating in this first meeting means recovering, unfortunately delayed, an organizational space so that the conclusions of the Amazon Synod can be fully appreciated and put into practice.”
In the wake of the pandemic and amid the current Synod of Synodality process, Bishop Lazzari acknowledges that many of the fruits of the Final Document and the Apostolic Exhortation “Querida Amazonía” have remained as “a lesson not fully assimilated or embraced in our Churches.” Therefore, this space represents an opportunity for reunion and renewal:
“I carry in my heart the expectation of what will become of CEAMA in the Amazon and in the Church? I have many questions, especially about the relationship between CEAMA and the various Episcopal Conferences that currently bring together the Amazonian Churches.”
Beyond institutionality, Bishop Lazzari emphasizes that the Church’s journey in the Amazon embodies a profound shift in ecclesial vision, echoing the voice of Pope Francis:
“The periphery becomes the center. Big solutions will hardly come from command centers. In the Amazon, we work in Churches that are not overly structured, capable of showing the world new ways of being Church.”
He recalls with hope the role of REPAM as a prophetic and concrete network that has been able to unite efforts in the defense of the territory and indigenous peoples. Along the same lines, he envisions the value of a united Amazonian episcopate:
“I hope, above all, that this will be—and it certainly will be—a fraternal meeting between brother bishops. If our Churches see us united beyond political borders, they will rejoice with us. And we will be able to show the world the Amazonian Face of the Church, as part of the rich diversity of the People of God.”
The Meeting of Bishops of the Amazon will be a new seed for strengthening pastoral communion beyond national boundaries, confirming CEAMA’s vocation as a space for articulation, listening, and service for a Church that, from the green heart of the planet, seeks to continue offering new paths of conversion and hope.