Within the framework of the Meeting of Bishops of the Amazon, held in the Colombian capital from August 17 to 20, ADN Celam gathered testimonies from various participants to learn about the progress of the synodal journey of the Amazonian Churches from the 2019 Synod to the present. The event aims to strengthen synodality as a style of Church that listens, shares, and commits itself to the peoples and territories of the region.
In the voices of bishops, priests, laypeople, and religious, the importance of walking together, listening to indigenous communities, and creating new pastoral forms that respond to current challenges is highlighted. The participants shared their local experiences and the work of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), reflecting a living process of fraternity and shared mission.
Monsignor Ernesto Romero: “Today we are experiencing a synodal Church that walks together.”
For the apostolic vicar of Tucupita, Venezuela, since the Synod on the Amazon, communities have been able to experience what it means to walk together as a Church guided by the Holy Spirit. “We are called to be the face of our Amazon and our people: indigenous people, peasants, and river dwellers,” he said.
He emphasized that in his jurisdiction, located in the Orinoco Delta, the leading role in pastoral work is played by catechists, missionaries, and indigenous leaders who animate community life, defend the rights of the people, and strengthen the proclamation of the Gospel in a territory with more than 300 canals and rivers.
Carmen de los Ríos: “CEAMA already has an identity and a five-year path.”
The assistant to Cardinal Pedro Barreto, president of CEAMA, emphasized that this meeting is an achievement in the Amazonian ecclesial process. She recalled that it all began with Pope Francis’ gesture in Puerto Maldonado, Peru, in 2018, when he listened to the indigenous peoples and encouraged a process that is now taking shape in CEAMA.
“What we have experienced in such a short time is a miracle. CEAMA already has a structure, an identity, and a five-year journey that is now being relaunched with greater strength,” she said. For De los Ríos, it is clear that synodality includes everyone: bishops, laity, religious, and priests, in a common mission to proclaim that God’s love transforms the reality of the Amazon.
Father Romny García: “The great advance has been inclusion and walking together.”
For his part, the diocesan administrator of Guasdualito, Venezuela, said that the main fruit of this process of the Synod of the Amazon has been to win over priests to the dream of a synodal Church, in which the participation of the laity plays a fundamental role.
“We come from a very traditional, hierarchical Church, and Pope Francis has invited us to listen and walk together. That has been wonderful,“ he said. He also highlighted that pastoral care in previously neglected border and jungle areas has been strengthened, integrating communities that are now a priority in diocesan life.
Martha Inés Valencia: ”The novelty is not in what we do, but in how we do it.”
The Colombian missionary Laurita, who has accompanied the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (Repam) since its inception, emphasized that meeting again with CEAMA allows her to see the great progress that has been made along this path. According to her, the most important thing has been to make visible both the presence of the Church and that of the Amazonian peoples, all walking together.
The nun believes that Pope Francis’s innovative contribution lies in re-signification, that is, giving value to what seemed to be losing it, transforming the way pastoral care is carried out. “Today we talk about life plans and not just projects, inspired by indigenous communities, and we are moving towards an integral ecology that cares for life and our common home,” she concluded.