“There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced” (LS, 26).
The Synod of the Amazon is not only for Latin America, it is also for us on this side of world, and for the circle of life. It is indeed a Synod for life.
We call on the administration and Congress to enact a humane, efficient, consistent, and just system that will uphold the dignity of all. We urge policymakers to follow the example of people of faith and faith-based organizations that have consistently welcomed and supported those arriving at the border by putting into place the below recommendations.
It was through my association with the Columban Sisters that I began to learn just how crucial the Subanen culture is as a voice on behalf of a renewable Earth. The Subanens regarded their habitat as a sacred community to be cherished, not as a collection of resources to be exploited.
On the fourth anniversary of the document that inspired the Church to take better care of God’s creation, we have the responsibility to keep that work alive.
A new spirituality of creation is emerging, one deeply tied to the fate of the Earth. The stakes – the fate of the Earth and future generations – are high. Indigenous communities and women play a crucial role. The spirituality of creative nonviolence is deeper and more holistic, rooted in the gift of creation.
There is a worldwide movement underway, an awakening at last to the seriousness of the environmental crisis at hand. The future of the planet and humanity depends on it.
Fr Peter Toohey with an aboriginal woman
We have spent the last 200 years or so trying to deny the shadow side of our birth as a nation. Coming to terms with this history is vital for the future not only of indigenous people but of us nonaboriginal people as well.
Columban representatives Scott Wright (left), Peter Hughes (right) and Amy Echeverria (centre) at the Pre-Synod Conference on the Amazon at Georgetown University with Archbishop Bernardito Auza and Luis Cardinal Tagle, from Manila.
We all have moments in our lives, like my daughter’s birth, when we feel both the immensity and intimacy of life tightly wound together. The Synod on the Amazon is one of those moments in the life of the Church – a moment when the Church, the people of God, and all of Creation are totally universal and utterly unique at the same time.
“I don’t want to die while dying. I want to live while dying." Over a week ago I attended a Resurrection Mass for the woman who uttered these words while knowing cancer would soon end her life.
Copyright © 2019 Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, Washington, D.C.