IPAM (Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia) mourns the death of Pope Francis on Monday 21st, at the age of 88. During his 12 years at the head of the Catholic Church, the pontiff exalted the protection of the Amazon and its peoples, especially the indigenous and riverine peoples.
“We feel the loss of Francis, the first Latin American pope and an ally in the protection of the Amazon. His words of wisdom were received around the world as an effort in the dialog for climate action and international cooperation in favor of our common home,” says André Guimarães, executive director of IPAM.
Pope Francis on a visit to indigenous peoples in Colombia (Photo: Servizio Fotografico L’Osservatore Romano)
Francis was the first pope to convene a Synod for the Amazon, which will take place in 2019 with the aim of dealing with the Pan-Amazon reality. In a reflection published in the post-synodal apostolic exhortation “Querida Amazonia“, the Pope writes that he dreams of “an Amazon that fights for the rights of the poorest, the native peoples, the least of these, so that their voice is heard and their dignity promoted”.
Years earlier, in 2015, on the eve of the Paris Agreement, Francis was also a pioneer when he published “Laudato Si“, an encyclical letter on caring for the planet, humanity’s common home. In the document, he emphasizes: “The urgent challenge of protecting our common home includes the concern to unite the entire human family in the search for sustainable and integral development.”
The same text cites St. Francis of Assisi, the Catholic saint who inspired the choice of Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s papal name, as “an example par excellence of care for what is fragile and for an integral ecology, lived with joy and authenticity”.
With condolences, IPAM stands in solidarity with the global Catholic community and hopes that the next leadership of this Church will follow in Francis’ footsteps, towards sustainable development with equity and respect.
