Issued by the Catholic Center for Studies and Media - Jordan. Editor-in-chief Fr. Rif'at Bader - موقع أبونا abouna.org

Published on Friday, 19 January 2018
The Pope embraces the Amazonian peoples, “Defend life, earth and cultures”
By Andrea Tornielli/ lastampa.it :

Pope Francis’ meeting with the indigenous people of the Amazon region, “You are threatened by the distortion of certain policies aimed at the “conservation” of nature without taking you into account”. No to ideological colonizations, disguised as progress, that establish a uniform, single and weak way of thinking.

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«Harakbut, Esse-ejas, Matsiguenkas, Yines, Shipibos, Asháninkas, Yaneshas, Kakintes, Nahuas, Yaminahuas, Juni Kuin, Madijá, Manchineris, Kukamas, Kandozi, Quichuas, Huitotos, Shawis, Achuar, Boras, Awajún, Wampís…». Francis’ first public meeting in Peru, the “much anticipated” encounter with the indigenous people of the Amazon region at Coliseo Regional Madre de Dios in Puerto Maldonado, opens with the list of indigenous ethnic groups present. The Pope embraces with joy this multifaceted variety of languages and cultures, and says: “Here with you, I feel welling up within me the song of Saint Francis: “Praise be to you, my Lord!”

For their part, the approximately 4 thousand representatives of the indigenous tribes, who from the early hours of dawn waited for the Pope in the sporting structure, express their enthusiasm for the presence of the Bishop of Rome with songs and welcome dances. The same enthusiasm was shown one hour earlier by a group of children at Puerto Maldonato airport, who literally clung to Francesco’s neck to embrace him so that he was forced to hold on to the barriers so as not to fall forward. Bergoglio responded with a smile.

And in the Coliseo he looks amused the whirlwind of feathers, tunics, wooden musical instruments, men, women, elderly, children performing in his honor. Next to the Pope there is the Apostolic Vicar of Puerto Maldonado, Monsignor David Marti’ nez de Aguirre Guinea, who expresses gratitude for his visit to Peru and for the convocation of the 2019 Amazon Synod. Then follow the testimonies of a couple of natives, Héctor and Yésica, and of an elderly woman, Maria Luzmila, who launch a cry of alarm for the “abuses” that their land is forced to suffer: “They want us to disappear. They are destroying the planet. If we do not eat, we will die of hunger. All of us must protect our land to live in harmony” Yésica says. We want our children to study, but we don’t want the school to erase our traditions, our languages, we don’t want to forget our ancestral wisdom!”.

Then, they and other indigenous representatives are given a copy of Laudato Si translated into local languages while a Machirenga singing is performed.

“Thank you for being here- Bergoglio says - and for helping me to see closer up, in your faces, the reflection of this land. It is a diverse face, one of infinite variety and enormous biological, cultural and spiritual richness. Those of us who do not live in these lands need your wisdom and knowledge to enable us to enter into, without destroying, the treasures that this region holds.”

Francis spoke immediately afterwards of the “the deep wounds that Amazonia and its peoples bear”, reaffirming the closeness and accompaniment of the Church, together with the “ whole-hearted option for the defence of life, the defence of the earth and the defence of cultures”.

“Probably - he adds - The native Amazonian peoples have been so threatened on their own lands as they are at present”. The Pope points out two threats, “on the one hand, there is neo-extractivism and the pressure being exerted by great business interests that want to lay hands on its petroleum, gas, lumber, gold and forms of agro-industrial mono-cultivation”.

On the other hand, “its lands are being threatened by the distortion of certain policies aimed at the “conservation” of nature without taking into account the men and women, specifically you, my Amazonian brothers and sisters, who inhabit it”.

“We know of movements that, under the guise of preserving the forest – Francis explain - hoard great expanses of woodland and negotiate with them, leading to situations of oppression for the native peoples; as a result, they lose access to the land and its natural resources.”

“These problems strangle her peoples and provoke the migration of the young due to the lack of local alternatives. We have to break with the historical paradigm that views Amazonia as an inexhaustible source of supplies for other countries without concern for its inhabitants.”

The Pope considers it “essential to begin creating institutional expressions of respect, recognition and dialogue with the native peoples, acknowledging and recovering their native cultures, languages, traditions, rights and spirituality”.

He also calls for acknowledging the existence of promising “initiatives coming from your own communities and organizations, which advocate that the native peoples and communities themselves be the guardians of the woodlands”.

Then he adds, “ Allow me to state that if, for some, you are viewed as an obstacle or a hindrance, in truth is your lives cry out against a style of life that is oblivious to its own real cost. You are a living memory of the mission that God has entrusted to us all: the protection of our common home”. The defense of the earth - explains Bergoglio - has no other purpose than the defence of life”.

The Pope mentions “the suffering caused for some of you by emissions of hydrocarbons, which gravely threaten the lives of your families and contaminate your natural environment”. And he denounces “another devastating assault on life linked to this environmental contamination favoured by illegal mining. I am speaking of human trafficking: slave labour and sexual abuse. Violence against adolescents and against women cries out to heaven”. The Catholic Church “which will never stop pleading for the outcast and those who suffer”.

Francis then chose to cite the example of the “Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation” (PIAV), “Their primitive lifestyle made them isolated even from their own ethnic groups; they went into seclusion in the most inaccessible reaches of the forest in order to live in freedom. Continue to defend these most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters. Their presence reminds us that we cannot use goods meant for all as consumerist greed dictates.”

“Limits have to be set that can help preserve us from all plans for a massive destruction of the habitat that makes us who we are”.

The Pope asks that all indigenous peoples be recognized, “We need urgently to appreciate the essential contribution that they bring to society as a whole, and not reduce their cultures to an idealized image of a natural state, much less a kind of museum of a bygone way of life. Their cosmic vision and their wisdom, have much to teach those of us who are not part of their culture. All our efforts to improve the lives of the Amazonian peoples will prove too little”.

Then Francis returned to talk about ideological colonizations. “Amazonia is not only a reserve of biodiversity but also a cultural reserve that must be preserved in the face of the new forms of colonialism”. The family is, and always has been, the social institution that has most contributed to keeping our cultures alive. In moments of past crisis, in the face of various forms of imperialism, the families of the original peoples have been the best defence of life. Special care is demanded of us, lest we allow ourselves to be ensnared by ideological forms of colonialism, disguised as progress, that slowly but surely dissipate cultural identities and establish a uniform, single… and weak way of thinking”. The Pope refers here to health policies that do not take into account the cultures of peoples and the pressures of some “international organizations” for sterilization policies.

The Pope affirms that “ Schooling and education for the native peoples must be a priority and commitment of the state: an integrated and inculturated commitment that recognizes, respects and integrates their ancestral wisdom as a treasure belonging to the whole nation”. And he asks the bishops to continue to encourage “intercultural and bilingual education in the schools, in institutions of teacher training, and in the universities.”

Finally, Francis recalls the evangelical commitment of so many missionaries men and women in the Amazon and makes an appeal, “Do not yield to those attempts to uproot the Catholic faith from your peoples. Each culture and each worldview that receives the Gospel enriches the Church by showing a new aspect of Christ’s face. The Church is not alien to your problems and your lives, she does not want to be aloof from your way of life and organization. We need the native peoples to shape the culture of the local churches in Amazonia… In this spirit, I have convoked a Synod for Amazonia in 2019”.