Description
Born out of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region, Querida Amazonia (Beloved Amazon) is Pope Francis’ impassioned celebration of this unique area of South America.
In this landmark publication, the Holy Father examines the ecological, social, cultural and ecclesial future of the Amazon, underscoring the importance of this earthly paradise to sustaining global environmental health.
In exploring the area’s ‘splendour, drama and mystery’, Francis not only pays homage to the ‘overwhelming natural beauty and the superabundant life’ of the Amazon but highlights how its rivers, rainforests, flora and fauna risk becoming expendable in the name of progress.
As well as focussing on the environment, Francis also explores the importance of ‘spiritual inculturation’, ‘forms of ministry’ and ‘the strength and gift of women’ in consolidating the relationship between the Church and the indigenous people of the Amazon. A rallying cry to all, Querida Amazonia is a both a sobering condemnation of social and ecological injustice, and a paean to the natural world.
