Synod on the Amazon: Looking far
A special Synod on the Amazon called by Pope Francis to be held in Rome this October. The difficulties and opportunities that this important ecclesial event implies. The first difficulty is that many people, both outside and inside the Church, do not know what a synod is, nor do they know what the Amazon is, nor have they heard that a […]
Martyr of Amazonia: Brother Paul McAuley
He gave his life for the poor of Amazonia. His commitment to guard our “Common Home” was his evangelical mandate. On April 3 last, at Iquitos, in the north-west region of Peru, at the Intercultural Studies Community, some young hostel residents found the lifeless, charred body of Paul McCauley, 71, a British missionary member of […]
Amazon Synod: “We have a life and a history that is sacred”
In the Amazon’s borderlands, ‘you have to be prepared’ for anything. The parish where Sister Maria Emilia Molenda Kuche works stretches along the banks of the Amazon River and far up the Yavari River, an area sparsely populated by Tikuna, Yagua and Kukama Indians. It takes about eight hours to reach the village closest to […]
Amazon: Faith, Solidarity, Action
As part of the global ecumenical community we, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with churches and communities across the Amazon region. The ecological crisis of the rainforests calls for ongoing efforts by ecumenical partners to achieve peace and justice at local, national, regional and international levels. It is in this context we endorse and support […]
Resistance and Prophesy in Amazonia
Instead of the model of plunder, the Amazonian communities propose that of co-existence with nature. And Pope Francis stands by their side. “For us they are important names. Our city is called Açailândia, the land of the açaì, the Amazon fruit most full of life. Mother Earth, like all mothers, gives us our name. Our […]
Vocation Story: “God surprises me”
Perseverance and Faithfulness will carry us all the way long. All is a gift from God. Be grateful, do what you can and remain faithful to the call of Jesus. That will bring you to the good end. A Comboni Brother from Germany tell us his story. I am a 72 years old. I belong […]
Martyr of Amazonia: Father Ezekiel Ramin
“I love you all and I love justice. Let us not approve violence, even if we are treated violently. The Father who is speaking to you has received death threats. Dear brothers, if my life belongs to you, so will my death “. As the old jeep moves swiftly along the narrow, dirt road through […]
Brazil: Indigenous People, the risk of extinction
Miners, loggers, developers invade indigenous lands. With them came violence and diseases. Consolata Missionary Brother Carlo Zacquini was ministering among the Yanomami people in a remote area of Brazil, near the border with Venezuela, when gold miners invaded their lands. After a violent confrontation in which miners killed four Indians and the Yanomami killed four […]
Amazon Synod: To proclaim the Gospel in Wapishana
Language is more than just a way of communicating. It opens a window into indigenous cultures and enables to help indigenous people maintain their identity. In an open-sided circular building beside the Catholic chapel in this Amerindian village, Scarboro Father Ron MacDonell was explaining how the tongue, the teeth and the vocal cords work together […]
Vocation Story: To be Witness of the Gospel
“I was searching for a direction in my life, a direction which I hoped, could lead me somewhere closer to God…I was searching for this presence with the wrong initial perspectives… and it took me a while to understand that I was getting lost”. A Comboni Brother, Paolo Rizzetto, tell us his story. I lived […]
