From August 17 to 20, the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) will bring together bishops from across the Amazon region in Bogotá at a historic moment: the first major episcopal meeting since the 2019 Synod for the Amazon. It will be a space to reflect, share, and discern together how to be Church in this blessed and wounded land, in the spirit of synodality and in the light of the Jubilee Year.
In conversation with CEAMA, Monsignor Francis Dean Alleyne, bishop of the Diocese of Georgetown (Guyana), expressed the profound significance of this ecclesial moment.
“In the spirit of synodality and in this Jubilee Year, I believe it is an opportune moment for the Amazonian bishops to gather and, together, discern and affirm the most appropriate ways of being Church,” he said.
The Guyanese pastor arrives in Bogotá with a heart marked by the cultural and spiritual richness of the indigenous peoples, but also by the pain of their suffering.
“I carry in my heart the spirit of the indigenous communities that enrich the Church. I come with a heart deeply concerned about the pain caused by the abandonment and exploitation that these communities too often suffer,” he shared with firmness and sensitivity.
Recalling the journey since the Synod and the words of Pope Francis in the apostolic exhortation Querida Amazonía, Monsignor Alleyne feels motivated by the living presence of God in creation and the Gospel mandate to care for it:
“I am inspired by ‘Querida Amazonía,’ the magnitude of God’s presence in his creation and the mandate to be faithful stewards who protect all of creation.”
Looking ahead to the meeting of bishops, the bishop of Georgetown hopes that this gathering will bear concrete fruit to strengthen the pastoral ministry and coordination of the Church in the Amazon region:
“I hope there will be a strong consensus among the episcopate to form ecclesial conferences in the dioceses of the Amazon and to create a network to promote and share best practices.”
The Meeting of Amazonian Bishops will thus be a space for communion, listening, and joint construction, to continue weaving a Church with an Amazonian face that responds to the cries of the earth and the peoples who inhabit it.
