Statement on the Release of Pope Francis' Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, "Querida Amazonia"

As a faith-based network raising a prophetic voice of justice for Appalachia and her people, the Catholic Committee of Appalachia (CCA) has welcomed and watched with interest the unfolding process of the recent Amazon Synod.[1] The Synod followed the see, judge, act method of pastoral reflection familiar to CCA and utilized in our various ministries, activism, and pastoral letters.[2] The Synod began with listening most deeply to the voices of the oppressed—specifically the voices of Indigenous peoples, of Earth, and of the region’s poor—and to the voices of pastoral agents who stand in solidarity with them. The region’s bishops listened not only to the experiences reflected in these voices but to the proposals they suggested.

Like his encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ response to the Synod, Querida Amazonia,[3] is a groundbreaking magisterial document giving voice to the cry of Earth and the cry of the poor and calling the universal church to a fundamental conversion. As it focuses the vision of Laudato Si’ upon the challenges of a specific region of the world, the document echoes the commitments CCA has been attempting to put into practice in our region for half a century.

Specifically, CCA affirms Francis’ statements that:

  • Christians must feel “outrage” at the suffering of peoples, of Earth, and of all creatures at the hands of the “new colonialism” of globalization. (nos. 12, 15)

  • We must believe in the possibility of overcoming colonial mentalities through the building of “networks of solidarity” committed to the option for the poor. (nos. 17, 27)

  • The wellbeing of people and of all of creation must take precedence over the interests of industry. (no. 48)

  • The church, in responding to the needs of people and of creation, must exhibit a “courageous openness to the novelty of the Spirit.” (no. 69)

  • This openness must include a receptivity to the wisdom of Native peoples and their spiritualities, the nurturing of the “broad and active involvement of the laity” (no. 94), and the ability to rethink ecclesial ministries in the service of providing the Eucharist to all. (nos. 77-79, 81-86)

In all of these points, Querida Amazonia is a courageous, and even radical, step forward in the continuing development of the church’s “integral ecology,” calling for continued transformation of the church borne from a deep ecological conversion and a “preferential option for indigenous peoples,” in the words of the Synod’s Final Document (no. 27).[4]

However, we, like many other sectors of the church, are disappointed that Francis did not take this opportunity to respond to the requests of the region’s bishops, clergy, and laity by making some effort toward the opening of the priesthood to married men and of the diaconate to women. In particular, we are disappointed with Querida Amazonia’s discussion of the role of women in the church made precisely in response to the Synod’s requests.

Among the many weaknesses of Francis’ view of women in ministry, one stands out as particularly concerning in this document. Despite Francis’ deep awareness of the domination of creation by human beings, he seems to be less aware of the domination of women by men and how the latter is related to the former. We believe, drawing on Francis’ words, that “everything is connected.”[5] As we stated in our People’s Pastoral letter, “Just as we humans have viewed ourselves as masters and owners of nature, history shows how women have been treated as objects without value or voice.”[6] This domination is transmitted, in part, by our own religious traditions: “Sexism is transmitted and upheld through church traditions which explicitly or implicitly misuse scripture and faith traditions to justify the exclusion, domination, and abuse of women.”[7] Querida Amazonia’s inability to make these connections threatens to undermine the bold ecological vision presented in the text.

Some commentators have pointed out that, since Francis didn’t respond directly to the specific recommendations to ordain married men to the priesthood and to reopen the question of ordaining women to the diaconate, the bishops of the region and others could continue to advocate for these reforms.[8] For our part, CCA will certainly celebrate Pope Francis’ ongoing challenge to undergo an ecological conversion, but will continue to urge the dismantling of sexist domination in our church as well as part of an integral ecology. We join our voices to those of our sisters and brothers of Amazonia and renew our earlier statement to Pope Francis urging the ordination of women to the diaconate, made one year ago in response to the needs of our own region.[9] If the need is great in Appalachia, it is indeed exponentially greater in other parts of the world with whom we stand in solidarity.

For indeed, “We desire, and commit to become… a church of partnership that holds all members as equals, that has rid itself of the sin of sexism… adjusting its structures of membership, leadership, and sacramental life to reflect this equality,” so that we might also be “a church that is prophetic, which is relevant to the world by announcing good news for the poor and denouncing social and ecological sin, whose leaders speak loudly of justice and refuse to be tempted into silence.” [10]

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[1] See http://www.sinodoamazonico.va.

[2] See https://www.ccappal.org/publications.

[3] Pope Francis, “Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Querida Amazonia” (February 12, 2020), available at http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20200202_querida-amazonia.html.

[4] Synod of Bishops Special Assembly for the Pan-Amazonian Region, “The Amazon: New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology (Final Document)” (October 26, 2019), available at http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20191026_sinodo-amazzonia_en.html.

[5] Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, no. 117.

[6] Catholic Committee of Appalachia, The Telling Takes Us Home: Taking Our Place in the Stories that Shape Us (A People’s Pastoral from the Catholic Committee of Appalachia) (Spencer: CCA, 2015), 12, available at https://www.ccappal.org/s/The-Telling-Takes-Us-Home.pdf.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Austen Ivereigh, “Pope Francis discerns 'third way' for the Amazon,” The Tablet (February 12, 2020), available at https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/12469/pope-francis-discerns-third-way-for-the-amazon.

[9] Catholic Committee of Appalachia, “Letter to Pope Francis Urging Ordination of Women to the Diaconate” (February 26, 2019), available at https://www.ccappal.org/blog/cca-writes-pope-francis-to-urge-ordination-of-women-deacons.

[10] The Telling Takes Us Home, 57.

CCA Staff