From the Apostolic Vicariate of Aguarico, in the province of Orellana (Ecuador), Bishop Geovanny Paz of Latacunga has raised his voice to strongly denounce an injustice that is mortally wounding the Amazon and its peoples.
Four years ago, the Constitutional Court ruled that the oil industry’s flares must be extinguished, after recognizing the environmental and human damage caused by their constant burning. Six Amazonian girls, symbols of the wounded dignity of an entire people, succeeded in getting the courts to recognize their right to a healthy, pollution-free environment.
However, the ruling has not been enforced. The flares are still burning. And with them, impunity.
“They are still burning, four years have passed. What are we waiting for? These flares cause cancer. Cancer means death,” denounced Monsignor Paz.
The figure is shocking: more than 700 people affected by cancer in the area. Behind each number is a face, a family, a life cut short. Faced with this reality, the voice of the Church resounds clearly: the Gospel demands that we defend life above any economic or political interest.
“Jesus Christ told us: seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. Let us do justice. Let us not pollute the air, the rivers, the earth. They are our Common Home,” recalled the bishop, calling for concrete commitments to care for creation and defend human, collective, and environmental rights.
This prophetic cry from the Amazon reminds us that this is not just a local problem, but a wound that tears apart the whole of humanity. Life in the Amazon is threatened by extractive models that prioritize profit over dignity.
CEAMA joins in this denunciation and echoes the question that challenges our consciences: What are we waiting for to see justice done and the torches of death extinguished once and for all?
Today more than ever, we need men and women of good will, capable of choosing life, defending the most vulnerable, and working together to leave a better world than the one we received.