In view of the Synod on the Pan-Amazon region convoked by Pope Francis for October 2019, COMECE will host a high-level delegation from the Amazon region on Thursday 20 September 2018.
Pope Francis celebrates a Mass for the opening of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon region, in St. Peter’s Basilica. (Photo: Shutterstock)
The delegation of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM) is due to be led by its President, H.Em. Cardinal Claudio Hummes (Brazil) and its Vice-President, H.Em. Cardinal Pedro Barreto Jimeno (Peru), and will include representatives of indigenous communities from the Brazilian Amazon region.
The visit will take place in the context of the preparations for the upcoming Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region, which will be convened by Pope Francis in October 2019 under the theme “New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology”.
Following Pope Francis’ concerns expressed for indigenous peoples, COMECE, in cooperation with CIDSE, Adveniat, and Misereor, will facilitate meetings for the Pan-Amazon delegation with various EU actors in order to raise awareness for the ecological, socio-economic, cultural and human rights challenges people are facing in their region.
As part of their visit to Brussels, the Pan-Amazonian Church and indigenous representatives will present a report elaborated in cooperation with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) focusing on land rights issues.
The event will be open to the public and will take place on Thursday, 20 September 2018 from 12.00 to 14.00 at the Secretariat of COMECE. Closer to the date of the visit, more information and a registration link will be published on COMECE website.