The Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) expressed its deep sorrow and spiritual closeness to the Honduran people in the wake of the massacre of 20 peasants in the Bajo Aguán region of Honduras, an event that once again highlights the grave situations of violence, exclusion, and impunity affecting rural communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Through an institutional statement of pastoral solidarity, CEAMA strongly condemned all forms of violence against those who defend life, the land, and human dignity, reaffirming the Church’s commitment to the peoples fighting for their rights and the care of their territories.
“As a Church that walks alongside the people and hears the cry of the territories, we firmly condemn all violence against those who defend life, the land, and human dignity,” the statement reads.
The Ecclesial Conference also expressed its solidarity with the victims’ families, the peasant communities, and the Church in Honduras, sharing in their grief and offering a prayer for those who today suffer the consequences of this tragedy.
A cry that challenges the continent
For CEAMA, the blood shed by these peasant brothers and sisters reveals a deep wound that continues to scar Latin America and the Caribbean: the persistence of structures of violence, exclusion, and impunity that strike especially the poorest and most vulnerable sectors.
The situation in the Lower Aguán region adds to the many territorial conflicts faced by rural, indigenous, and Afro-descendant communities across the continent, where the defense of the land and common goods often clashes with economic, extractive, and violent interests.
In this context, the Church reaffirms the urgency of promoting paths of justice, dialogue, and the protection of human life and our Common Home.
A Call for Justice and the Protection of Communities
CEAMA urged the competent authorities to investigate the events transparently, ensure justice for the victims, and strengthen the protection of rural communities and those defending their territories.
It also reiterated its evangelical commitment to the defense of human rights, the dignity of peoples, and the integral care of creation.
“The Amazon and our continent cannot grow accustomed to the suffering or death of those who sow hope from the territories,” the statement concludes.
From the spirituality of integral ecology and the preferential option for the poor, the Church journeying in the Amazon continues to raise its voice against all forms of violence that threaten the lives of peoples and territories.