welcoming a variety of expressions of faith.
Photo Courtesy of CNA<\/em><\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_divider color=”#ffba5a” divider_weight=”3px” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ max_width=”80px” height=”3px” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”top” animation_intensity_slide=”20%” animation_starting_opacity=”100%” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_blurb title=”Pachamama” image=”https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/pachamama.jpg” _builder_version=”4.14.8″ _module_preset=”default” title_text=”pachamama” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ header_text_align=”center”]<\/p>\n
In what has become a central symbol of the Pan-Amazonian synod, the image of the Pachamama was a lightning rod of controversy. Presented as a culturally sensitive personification of life, critics harshly denounced it as a pagan idol.<\/span><\/p>\n A group of men from Austria traveled to Rome and threw several of the carvings into the Tiber River, recorded their actions, and posted the video to YouTube.<\/span><\/p>\n Pope Francis apologized for the incident, saying, \u201cAs bishop of this diocese, I ask forgiveness from those who have been offended by this gesture.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Photo courtesy of CNA.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_divider color=”#ffba5a” divider_weight=”3px” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ max_width=”80px” height=”3px” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”top” animation_intensity_slide=”20%” animation_starting_opacity=”100%” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_blurb title=”Fr. Dario Bossi” image=”https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/dario_bossirev.jpg” _builder_version=”4.14.8″ _module_preset=”default” title_text=”dario_bossirev” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ header_text_align=”center”]<\/p>\n Comboni Missionary Fr. Dario Bossi was one of the 183 synod fathers in the Pan-Amazonian Synod in October. In addition to his contributions and reporting on the event, he offers a suggestion on how the Church can respond in a visible way to the environmental destruction of the Amazon.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt would be a very strong sign if the Church could limit the use of gold in its sacraments and liturgies.\u201d said Fr. Dario. As provincial superior of the Comboni Missionaries in Brazil and a member of REPAM and of the Iglesias y Mineria Network, he warned of the danger that the \u201cgold diggers\u201d represent for the region.<\/span><\/p>\n Mountains of earth must be disrupted, he said, for a single gold ring. \u201cFor thirty years, the Amazon has been suffering from river pollution, toxic waste, and noise,\u201d Fr. Dario noted, citing deforestation and pollution as a natural result of profit-first policies. Just 10 percent of the world\u2019s gold is employed in essential uses (such as for medicine), Fr. Dario says. \u201cThe rest is stored and used for jewelry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.14.8″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″ custom_padding=”||0px|||”]<\/p>\n by: Kathleen M. Carroll The late summer wildfires that ravaged the Amazon region captured headlines worldwide but did not generate the level of animated conversation provoked by the Pan-Amazonian synod in October. Some of the pastoral challenges identified by the region\u2019s bishops prior to the meeting were a shortage of priests, the primacy of ecological damage, and obstacles to evangelization.<\/span><\/p>\n As is the case in many of the countries where the Comboni Missionaries serve, the Amazonian region faces a severe drought of priests to serve the people living there. Brazil hosts the world\u2019s largest Catholic population and a majority of people living in Central and South America are still living the Catholic faith brought by Spanish and Portuguese missionaries centuries ago. While the priest shortage is something hat affects the Church worldwide, it is felt especially keenly in remote districts which may see a priest but once or twice a year. Priests assigned to the territory are constantly on the move, traveling through dangerous and difficult terrain to serve small communities.<\/span><\/p>\n This is just one of the concerns raised by participating bishops prior to the opening of the synod. At a Mass to open the meeting, Pope Francis indicated an openness to solving this pastoral challenges with innovative thinking, while holding fast to the virtue of prudence.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPrudence is not indecision; it is not a defensive attitude,\u201d he said in his homily. \u201cIt is the virtue of the pastor who, in order to serve with wisdom, is able to discern, to be receptive to the newness of the Spirit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Spirit is always new, always creatively inspiring the Church to present the Gospel in a way suited to the present day, Pope Francis suggested, saying, \u201cFidelity to the newness of the Spirit is a grace that we must ask for in prayer. May the Spirit, who makes all things new, give us his own daring prudence; may he inspire our Synod to renew the paths of the Church in Amazonia, so that the fire of mission will continue to burn.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The fire imagery is not accidental. Francis expressed concerns over the 70,000 fires that tore through the eight-country region. While some accidental wildfires are common in any heavily forested region, this season was especially damaging. Worse, the significant increase in the number and severity of fires was driven in part by commercial interests.<\/span><\/p>\n Small communities in the area and indigenous people have been working to defend the Amazon from a rapid increase in deforestation. The resource-rich \u201clungs of the planet\u201d are particularly attractive targets for lumber producers and mining concerns. Pro-business political regimes often heavily favor development projects over preservation of the natural environment and an ancient way of life.<\/span><\/p>\n Both governmental establishments and business entities have been blamed for encouraging their landscape robs preservationists from their primary bargaining<\/span> These pristine regions are not simply undeveloped real estate, though. They are the possession and ancestral home of the indigenous people who live there. Since many do not hold a documentable \u201clegal\u201d title to their land, they are left destitute when a mining company \u201cbuys\u201d the land from the government or when the land is \u201csold\u201d by someone who never had any claim to it. The issue of land-grabbing is pervasive throughout the developing world, but it is especially pernicious in the Amazon. Once the forests are harvested and the mineral deposits mined, the cleared land is available for cattle–either through direct grazing or by growing soybeans to feed the world\u2019s burgeoning appetite for meat.<\/span><\/p>\n Pope Francis drew a sharp contrast between these devastating, destructive fires and the constructive, life-giving fire of God. His homily included a reference to the Old Testament story of the burning bush to show that \u201cGod\u2019s fire burns, yet does not consume.\u201d \u201cIt is the fire of love that illumines, warms and gives life,\u201d he said, \u201cnot a fire that blazes up and devours. When peoples and cultures are devoured without love and without respect, it is not God\u2019s fire but that of the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The pope also made a clear distinction between evangelization, characterized by love and concern for another, and colonization, a symptom of organized greed. \u201cMay God preserve us from the greed of new forms of colonialism,\u201d he said. \u201cThe fire set by interests that destroy, like the fire that recently devastated Amazonia, is not the fire of the Gospel. The fire of God is warmth that attracts and gathers into unity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n While synods are routine business for the Church, this meeting garnered more attention than most. The preparatory document highlighted the centrality of ecological issues for the Amazon region which, in some circles, provoked reactionary cries of political interest.<\/span><\/p>\n In the United States, concern for the environment is often cast as an issue for the political left. This caused a negative response to Francis\u2019s encyclical Laudato Si,<\/span> By the close of the synod, the region\u2019s bishops had proposed that under certain, limited conditions, the Church consider ordaining men of \u201cproven virtue.\u201d The bishops also encouraged the pope to reopen the discussion about potentially ordaining women to the diaconate. A marked break from the long traditions of priestly celibacy and exclusively male clergy, these proposals were still not the most controversial elements of the synod.<\/span><\/p>\n The bishops\u2019 call for \u201cministry with an Amazonian face\u201d cited the Church\u2019s long history of making the Gospel relevant to each age and culture. With a region as vast and varied as the Amazon, though, the ecclesial response cannot be one-size-fits-all. As their preparatory document put it: \u201cThe Church in the Amazon Basin has come to recognize that \u2013 because of the immense territorial expanse, the great diversity of its peoples, and the rapid changes in its socioeconomic<\/span> The passage continues, \u201cThis implies recognizing, among other elements, its immense geographical extension, much of it often difficult to access, its broad cultural diversity, and the pervading influence of national and international interests which often seek easy economic enrichment through the region\u2019s plentiful resources. An incarnated mission implies rethinking the Church\u2019s limited presence in relation to the immensity of the territory and its cultural diversity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n At length it was this exhortation provoked the strongest reaction. One expression of Amazonian spirituality, statues of the Pachamama, was singled out for vigorous denunciation (see \u201cThe Pachamama Controversy,” sidebar).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The statues, matching carved representations of a pregnant Amazonian woman, were referenced multiple times in events during the weeks-long synod. They were just one of many symbols of the Amazon on display during the event, but became the focus of energy of those who disagreed with some of the proposals being discussed. They were destroyed by Austrian men who had traveled to Rome specifically for the purpose. Their actions have been described as a \u201ccleansing of the temple\u201d by supporters and a \u201cself-serving media stunt\u201d by detractors, further evidence of the extent to which the culture wars of the West have infiltrated the Church.<\/span><\/p>\n As bishop of Rome, Pope Francis apologized for the October 21 incident.<\/span><\/p>\n During his homily for the closing Mass of the synod, Francis underscored the painful history of the Amazonian region and called for a different future. \u201cIn the scarred face of the Amazon,\u201d he said, \u201cthe mistakes of the past were not enough to stop the plundering of other persons and the inflicting of wounds on our brothers and sisters and on our sister earth.\u201d Hypocritical self-worship continues with its rites and prayers, he said, \u201cforgetting the true worship of God which is always expressed in love of one\u2019s neighbor.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The synod\u2019s proposals now await a final decision from the pope.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.14.8″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.14.8″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.8.0″ text_font=”|700||on|||||” text_font_size=”15px” text_letter_spacing=”2px” header_2_font=”||||||||” background_color=”#FFBA5A” text_orientation=”center” background_layout=”dark” custom_margin=”||0px” custom_padding=”30px|20px|30px|20px|true|true” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”top” animation_intensity_slide=”10%” link_option_url=”https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/latest-news\/” border_radii=”on|10px|10px|10px|10px” box_shadow_style=”preset3″ box_shadow_blur=”100px” box_shadow_color=”rgba(255,186,90,0.6)” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n latest news<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pope Francis opens the synod with a Masswelcoming a variety of expressions of faith.Photo Courtesy of CNAIn what has become a central symbol of the Pan-Amazonian synod, the image of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=\"no\" equal_height_columns=\"no\" menu_anchor=\"\" hide_on_mobile=\"small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility\" class=\"\" id=\"\" background_color=\"\" background_image=\"\" background_position=\"center center\" background_repeat=\"no-repeat\" fade=\"no\" background_parallax=\"none\" enable_mobile=\"no\" parallax_speed=\"0.3\" video_mp4=\"\" video_webm=\"\" video_ogv=\"\" video_url=\"\" video_aspect_ratio=\"16:9\" video_loop=\"yes\" video_mute=\"yes\" video_preview_image=\"\" border_size=\"\" border_color=\"\" border_style=\"solid\" margin_top=\"\" margin_bottom=\"\" padding_top=\"\" padding_right=\"\" padding_bottom=\"\" padding_left=\"\"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=\"1_1\" layout=\"1_1\" spacing=\"\" center_content=\"no\" hover_type=\"none\" link=\"\" min_height=\"\" hide_on_mobile=\"small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility\" class=\"\" id=\"\" background_color=\"\" background_image=\"\" background_position=\"left top\" background_repeat=\"no-repeat\" border_size=\"0\" border_color=\"\" border_style=\"solid\" border_position=\"all\" padding_top=\"\" padding_right=\"\" padding_bottom=\"\" padding_left=\"\" margin_top=\"\" margin_bottom=\"\" animation_type=\"\" animation_direction=\"left\" animation_speed=\"0.3\" animation_offset=\"\" last=\"no\"][fusion_separator style_type=\"none\" hide_on_mobile=\"small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility\" class=\"\" id=\"\" sep_color=\"\" top_margin=\"120\" bottom_margin=\"50\" border_size=\"\" icon=\"\" icon_circle=\"\" icon_circle_color=\"\" width=\"\" alignment=\"center\" \/][\/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=\"2_3\" layout=\"2_3\" spacing=\"\" center_content=\"no\" hover_type=\"none\" link=\"\" min_height=\"\" hide_on_mobile=\"small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility\" class=\"\" id=\"\" background_color=\"\" background_image=\"\" background_position=\"left top\" background_repeat=\"no-repeat\" border_size=\"0\" border_color=\"\" border_style=\"solid\" border_position=\"all\" padding_top=\"\" padding_right=\"\" padding_bottom=\"\" padding_left=\"\" margin_top=\"\" margin_bottom=\"\" animation_type=\"\" animation_direction=\"left\" animation_speed=\"0.3\" animation_offset=\"\" last=\"no\"][fusion_content_boxes layout=\"icon-with-title\" columns=\"1\" title_size=\"\" heading_size=\"2\" title_color=\"#4f4545\" body_color=\"#4f4545\" backgroundcolor=\"\" icon=\"\" iconflip=\"\" iconrotate=\"\" iconspin=\"no\" iconcolor=\"\" icon_circle=\"\" icon_circle_radius=\"\" circlecolor=\"\" circlebordersize=\"\" circlebordercolor=\"\" outercirclebordersize=\"\" outercirclebordercolor=\"\" icon_size=\"\" icon_hover_type=\"\" hover_accent_color=\"#0084c9\" image=\"\" image_id=\"\" image_max_width=\"\" link_type=\"\" button_span=\"\" link_area=\"\" link_target=\"\" icon_align=\"left\" animation_type=\"\" animation_direction=\"left\" animation_speed=\"0.3\" animation_delay=\"\" animation_offset=\"\" margin_top=\"\" margin_bottom=\"\" hide_on_mobile=\"small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility\" class=\"\" id=\"\"][fusion_content_box title=\"\" backgroundcolor=\"\" icon=\"\" iconflip=\"\" iconrotate=\"\" iconspin=\"no\" iconcolor=\"\" circlecolor=\"\" circlebordersize=\"\" circlebordercolor=\"\" outercirclebordersize=\"\" outercirclebordercolor=\"\" image=\"\" image_id=\"\" image_max_width=\"35\" link=\"\" linktext=\"Read More\" link_target=\"\" animation_type=\"\" animation_direction=\"left\" animation_speed=\"0.3\" animation_offset=\"\"]\n\nby: Kathleen M. Carroll\nThis story was originally featured in\u00a0<\/em>Comboni Missions<\/a>\u00a0magazine Winter 2019-2020 edition.\u00a0<\/em><\/span>\n\nThe late summer wildfires that ravaged the Amazon region captured headlines worldwide but did not generate the level of animated conversation provoked by the Pan-Amazonian synod in October. Some of the pastoral challenges identified by the region\u2019s bishops prior to the meeting were a shortage of priests, the primacy of ecological damage, and obstacles to evangelization.<\/span>\n\nAs is the case in many of the countries where the Comboni Missionaries serve, the Amazonian region faces a severe drought of priests to serve the people living there. Brazil hosts the world\u2019s largest Catholic population and a majority of people living in Central and South America are still living the Catholic faith brought by Spanish and Portuguese missionaries centuries ago. While the priest shortage is something hat affects the Church worldwide, it is felt especially keenly in remote districts which may see a priest but once or twice a year. Priests assigned to the territory are constantly on the move, traveling through dangerous and difficult terrain to serve small communities.<\/span>\n\nThis is just one of the concerns raised by participating bishops prior to the opening of the synod. At a Mass to open the meeting, Pope Francis indicated an openness to solving this pastoral challenges with innovative thinking, while holding fast to the virtue of prudence.<\/span>\n\n\u201cPrudence is not indecision; it is not a defensive attitude,\u201d he said in his homily. \u201cIt is the virtue of the pastor who, in order to serve with wisdom, is able to discern, to be receptive to the newness of the Spirit.\u201d<\/span>\n\nThe Spirit is always new, always creatively inspiring the Church to present the Gospel in a way suited to the present day, Pope Francis suggested, saying, \u201cFidelity to the newness of the Spirit is a grace that we must ask for in prayer. May the Spirit, who makes all things new, give us his own daring prudence; may he inspire our Synod to renew the paths of the Church in Amazonia, so that the fire of mission will continue to burn.\u201d<\/span>\n\nThe fire imagery is not accidental. Francis expressed concerns over the 70,000 fires that tore through the eight-country region. While some accidental wildfires are common in any heavily forested region, this season was especially damaging. Worse, the significant increase in the number and severity of fires was driven in part by commercial interests.<\/span>\n\nSmall communities in the area and indigenous people have been working to defend the Amazon from a rapid increase in deforestation. The resource-rich \u201clungs of the planet\u201d are particularly attractive targets for lumber producers and mining concerns. Pro-business political regimes often heavily favor development projects over preservation of the natural environment and an ancient way of life.<\/span>\n\nBoth governmental establishments and business entities have been blamed for encouraging their landscape robs preservationists from their primary bargaining<\/span>\nchip: a natural ecosystem worthy of saving. Where there is no forest to preserve, the thinking goes, there will be no preservationists to obstruct further development and despoliation.<\/span>\n\nThese pristine regions are not simply undeveloped real estate, though. They are the possession and ancestral home of the indigenous people who live there. Since many do not hold a documentable \u201clegal\u201d title to their land, they are left destitute when a mining company \u201cbuys\u201d the land from the government or when the land is \u201csold\u201d by someone who never had any claim to it. The issue of land-grabbing is pervasive throughout the developing world, but it is especially pernicious in the Amazon. Once the forests are harvested and the mineral deposits mined, the cleared land is available for cattle--either through direct grazing or by growing soybeans to feed the world\u2019s burgeoning appetite for meat.<\/span>\n\nPope Francis drew a sharp contrast between these devastating, destructive fires and the constructive, life-giving fire of God. His homily included a reference to the Old Testament story of the burning bush to show that \u201cGod\u2019s fire burns, yet does not consume.\u201d \u201cIt is the fire of love that illumines, warms and gives life,\u201d he said, \u201cnot a fire that blazes up and devours. When peoples and cultures are devoured without love and without respect, it is not God\u2019s fire but that of the world.\u201d<\/span>\n\nThe pope also made a clear distinction between evangelization, characterized by love and concern for another, and colonization, a symptom of organized greed. \u201cMay God preserve us from the greed of new forms of colonialism,\u201d he said. \u201cThe fire set by interests that destroy, like the fire that recently devastated Amazonia, is not the fire of the Gospel. The fire of God is warmth that attracts and gathers into unity.\u201d<\/span>\n\nWhile synods are routine business for the Church, this meeting garnered more attention than most. The preparatory document highlighted the centrality of ecological issues for the Amazon region which, in some circles, provoked reactionary cries of political interest.<\/span>\n\nIn the United States, concern for the environment is often cast as an issue for the political left. This caused a negative response to Francis\u2019s encyclical Laudato Si,<\/span>\nand the bishops of the Amazonian region were not exempt from the backlash. This unfortunate backdrop was exacerbated by one proposed solution to the priest<\/span>\nshortage: married clergy.<\/span>\n\nBy the close of the synod, the region\u2019s bishops had proposed that under certain, limited conditions, the Church consider ordaining men of \u201cproven virtue.\u201d The bishops also encouraged the pope to reopen the discussion about potentially ordaining women to the diaconate. A marked break from the long traditions of priestly celibacy and exclusively male clergy, these proposals were still not the most controversial elements of the synod.<\/span>\n\nThe bishops\u2019 call for \u201cministry with an Amazonian face\u201d cited the Church\u2019s long history of making the Gospel relevant to each age and culture. With a region as vast and varied as the Amazon, though, the ecclesial response cannot be one-size-fits-all. As their preparatory document put it: \u201cThe Church in the Amazon Basin has come to recognize that \u2013 because of the immense territorial expanse, the great diversity of its peoples, and the rapid changes in its socioeconomic<\/span>\nrealities \u2013 her pastoral care has been spread precariously thin. It was (and still is) necessary to have a greater presence, in an attempt to respond to this region\u2019s<\/span>\nspecific identity from the point-of-view of Gospel values.\u201d<\/span>\n\nThe passage continues, \u201cThis implies recognizing, among other elements, its immense geographical extension, much of it often difficult to access, its broad cultural diversity, and the pervading influence of national and international interests which often seek easy economic enrichment through the region\u2019s plentiful resources. An incarnated mission implies rethinking the Church\u2019s limited presence in relation to the immensity of the territory and its cultural diversity.\u201d<\/span>\n\nAt length it was this exhortation provoked the strongest reaction. One expression of Amazonian spirituality, statues of the Pachamama, was singled out for vigorous denunciation (see \u201cThe Pachamama Controversy,\" sidebar).\u00a0<\/span>\n\nThe statues, matching carved representations of a pregnant Amazonian woman, were referenced multiple times in events during the weeks-long synod. They were just one of many symbols of the Amazon on display during the event, but became the focus of energy of those who disagreed with some of the proposals being discussed. They were destroyed by Austrian men who had traveled to Rome specifically for the purpose. Their actions have been described as a \u201ccleansing of the temple\u201d by supporters and a \u201cself-serving media stunt\u201d by detractors, further evidence of the extent to which the culture wars of the West have infiltrated the Church.<\/span>\n\nAs bishop of Rome, Pope Francis apologized for the October 21 incident.<\/span>\n\nDuring his homily for the closing Mass of the synod, Francis underscored the painful history of the Amazonian region and called for a different future. \u201cIn the scarred face of the Amazon,\u201d he said, \u201cthe mistakes of the past were not enough to stop the plundering of other persons and the inflicting of wounds on our brothers and sisters and on our sister earth.\u201d Hypocritical self-worship continues with its rites and prayers, he said, \u201cforgetting the true worship of God which is always expressed in love of one\u2019s neighbor.\u201d<\/span>\n\nThe synod\u2019s proposals now await a final decision from the pope.\u25a0<\/span>\n\n[\/fusion_content_box][\/fusion_content_boxes][\/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=\"1_3\" layout=\"1_3\" spacing=\"\" center_content=\"no\" hover_type=\"none\" link=\"\" min_height=\"\" hide_on_mobile=\"small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility\" class=\"\" id=\"\" background_color=\"\" background_image=\"\" background_position=\"left top\" background_repeat=\"no-repeat\" border_size=\"0\" border_color=\"\" border_style=\"solid\" border_position=\"all\" padding_top=\"\" padding_right=\"\" padding_bottom=\"\" padding_left=\"\" margin_top=\"\" margin_bottom=\"\" animation_type=\"\" animation_direction=\"left\" animation_speed=\"0.3\" animation_offset=\"\" last=\"no\"][fusion_imageframe image_id=\"2443|full\" max_width=\"\" style_type=\"none\" blur=\"\" stylecolor=\"\" hover_type=\"none\" bordersize=\"\" bordercolor=\"\" borderradius=\"\" align=\"none\" lightbox=\"no\" gallery_id=\"\" lightbox_image=\"\" lightbox_image_id=\"\" alt=\"\" link=\"\" linktarget=\"_self\" hide_on_mobile=\"small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility\" class=\"\" id=\"\" animation_type=\"\" animation_direction=\"left\" animation_speed=\"0.3\" animation_offset=\"\"]https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Francis-Amazon.jpeg[\/fusion_imageframe][fusion_text columns=\"\" column_min_width=\"\" column_spacing=\"\" rule_style=\"default\" rule_size=\"\" rule_color=\"\" hide_on_mobile=\"small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility\" class=\"\" id=\"\" animation_type=\"\" animation_direction=\"left\" animation_speed=\"0.3\" animation_offset=\"\"]\n
This story was originally featured in <\/em>Comboni Missions magazine Winter 2019-2020 edition.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
chip: a natural ecosystem worthy of saving. Where there is no forest to preserve, the thinking goes, there will be no preservationists to obstruct further development and despoliation.<\/span><\/p>\n
and the bishops of the Amazonian region were not exempt from the backlash. This unfortunate backdrop was exacerbated by one proposed solution to the priest<\/span>
shortage: married clergy.<\/span><\/p>\n
realities \u2013 her pastoral care has been spread precariously thin. It was (and still is) necessary to have a greater presence, in an attempt to respond to this region\u2019s<\/span>
specific identity from the point-of-view of Gospel values.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nPope Francis opens the synod with a Mass welcoming a variety of expressions of faith.\nPhoto courtesy of CNA.<\/em><\/h6>\n[\/fusion_text][fusion_separator style_type=\"single solid\" hide_on_mobile=\"small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility\" class=\"\" id=\"\" sep_color=\"\" top_margin=\"20\" bottom_margin=\"20\" border_size=\"\" icon=\"\" icon_circle=\"\" icon_circle_color=\"\" width=\"\" alignment=\"center\" \/][fusion_content_boxes layout=\"icon-with-title\" columns=\"1\" title_size=\"18px\" heading_size=\"2\" title_color=\"\" body_color=\"\" backgroundcolor=\"rgba(119,205,244,0.66)\" icon=\"\" iconflip=\"\" iconrotate=\"\" iconspin=\"no\" iconcolor=\"\" icon_circle=\"\" icon_circle_radius=\"\" circlecolor=\"\" circlebordersize=\"\" circlebordercolor=\"\" outercirclebordersize=\"\" outercirclebordercolor=\"\" icon_size=\"\" icon_hover_type=\"\" hover_accent_color=\"\" image=\"\" image_id=\"\" image_max_width=\"\" link_type=\"\" button_span=\"\" link_area=\"\" link_target=\"\" icon_align=\"left\" animation_type=\"\" animation_direction=\"left\" animation_speed=\"0.3\" animation_delay=\"\" animation_offset=\"\" margin_top=\"\" margin_bottom=\"\" hide_on_mobile=\"small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility\" class=\"\" id=\"\"][fusion_content_box title=\"The Pachamama Controversy \" backgroundcolor=\"\" icon=\"\" iconflip=\"\" iconrotate=\"\" iconspin=\"\" iconcolor=\"\" circlecolor=\"\" circlebordersize=\"\" circlebordercolor=\"\" outercirclebordersize=\"\" outercirclebordercolor=\"\" image=\"\" image_id=\"\" image_max_width=\"\" link=\"\" linktext=\"Read More\" link_target=\"\" animation_type=\"\" animation_direction=\"left\" animation_speed=\"0.3\" animation_offset=\"\"]\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/pachamama.jpg\")
<\/span>\n\nIn what has become a central symbol of the Pan-Amazonian synod, the image of the Pachamama was a lightning rod of controversy. Presented as a culturally sensitive personification of life, critics harshly denounced it as a pagan idol.<\/span>\n\nA group of men from Austria traveled to Rome and threw several of the carvings into the Tiber River, recorded their actions, and posted the video to YouTube.<\/span>\n\nPope Francis apologized for the incident, saying, \u201cAs bishop of this diocese, I ask forgiveness from those who have been offended by this gesture.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\n\nPhoto courtesy of CNA.<\/em><\/span>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/dario_bossirev.jpg\")
\n\nComboni Missionary Fr. Dario Bossi was one of the 183 synod fathers in the Pan-Amazonian Synod in October. In addition to his contributions and reporting on the event, he offers a suggestion on how the Church can respond in a visible way to the environmental destruction of the Amazon.<\/span>\n\n\u201cIt would be a very strong sign if the Church could limit the use of gold in its sacraments and liturgies.\u201d said Fr. Dario. As provincial superior of the Comboni Missionaries in Brazil and a member of REPAM and of the Iglesias y Mineria Network, he warned of the danger that the \u201cgold diggers\u201d represent for the region.<\/span>\n\nMountains of earth must be disrupted, he said, for a single gold ring. \u201cFor thirty years, the Amazon has been suffering from river pollution, toxic waste, and noise,\u201d Fr. Dario noted, citing deforestation and pollution as a natural result of profit-first policies. Just 10 percent of the world\u2019s gold is employed in essential uses (such as for medicine), Fr. Dario says. \u201cThe rest is stored and used for jewelry.\u201d<\/span>","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,1],"tags":[325,56,207,324],"class_list":["post-2439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-uncategorized","tag-amazon","tag-magazine","tag-pope-francis","tag-synod"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Francis-Amazon.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}