A child in native dress attends a Jan. 19 meeting with Pope Francis at Madre de Dios stadium in Puerto Maldonado, Peru.
Photo: CNS Letter from Rome
Inés San Martín
When the bishops from the Amazon region gather in Rome next October, they will discuss the ordination of “elderly people”, preferably indigenous, to guarantee that the remote communities in the region have access to the sacraments.
“Affirming that celibacy is a gift for the Church, it is requested that, for the most remote areas of the region, the possibility of priestly ordination for elderly people is studied,” says a document preparing the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the Amazon.
The document goes on to say that the elderly people ordained in remote areas should “preferably [be] indigenous people, respected and accepted by their community, even if they already have a family that is established and stable, in order to ensure the Sacraments that accompany and sustain the Christian life”.
Though the three language versions of the document speak of “people” and not men, it is referring to the ordination of what are known as the viri probati, married men of proven virtue, many of whom already serve as permanent deacons.
The shortage of priests in the Amazon region has long been at the centre of debate, as has been the possibility of ordaining the viri probati. However, whenever he’s been approached about the issue, Pope Francis is clear that priestly celibacy is not up for grabs, despite the fact that it is a discipline of the Catholic Church and not doctrine.
‘Proven men’
History’s first Latin American Pope has been particularly attentive to the argument in favour of the viri probati in the Amazon or the Pacific Islands, where the mostly indigenous faithful can go months without seeing a priest.
As the debate over the ordination of ‘proven men’ in remote areas reignites, it is worth noting that many eastern rite Catholic Churches allow married men to be ordained. In addition, the Catholic Church allows some married Protestant clergy who convert to remain in priestly ministry.
The document released by the Vatican this week, known as the instrumentum laboris, will set the ground work for the Synod of Bishops on the Amazon, that will take place in Rome from October 6-27.
Under the same section where the ordination of married men of proven character is mentioned, ‘New ministries to respond more effectively to the needs of the Amazonian people’, the document also urges the promotion of indigenous vocations for men and women, in response to the pastoral and sacramental needs.
The document also calls the evangelisation of Latin America a ‘gift of Providence’”
“Their decisive contribution is in the impulse to an authentic evangelisation from the indigenous perspective, according to its uses and customs,” the document says, referring to both men and women. “These are indigenous people who preach to indigenous people from a deep knowledge of their culture and language, capable of communicating the message of the Gospel with the strength and effectiveness that their cultural baggage has.”
This, the document says, will allow for a transition from a “Church that visits” to a “Church that remains”, that “accompanies and is present through ministers that arise from their very inhabitants.”
Many issues are touched upon through the 60 pages of the document, the original language of which is Portuguese, but which was released by the Vatican also in Italian and Spanish. Among them is the call for the creation of an “economic fund” to support evangelisation, promote human rights and an integral ecology.
Though acknowledging that it wasn’t without flaws, the document also calls the evangelisation of Latin America a “gift of Providence”, that calls everyone to the salvation in Christ.
“Despite military, political and cultural colonisation, and beyond the greed and the ambition of the colonisers, there were many missionaries who gave their lives to transmit the Gospel,” the document says. “The missionary sense not only inspired the formation of Christian communities, but also legislation such as the Laws of the Indies that protected the dignity of the indigenous people against the abuses of their towns and territories.”
These abuses produced wounds in the community and overshadowed the message the missionaries wanted to give, among other reasons because the announcement of Christ was made “in connivance” with the powers that exploited the resources and oppressed populations.
Referring to the Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation, the document calls for their protection, noting that they are increasingly at risk due to the increase of mining and deforestation projects. In addition, it claims that 90% of the indigenous violently killed in the region are women.
Despite cultural colonisation, and beyond the greed and the ambition of the colonisers, there were many missionaries who gave their lives to transmit the Gospel”
Speaking about the “urbanisation” of the Amazon region, that has led to an estimated 70 to 80% of the population to abandon rural areas to live in cities within the region, the Vatican document says that instead of integration, it has led to the “urbanisation of poverty” and further exclusion.
According to those who answered the questionnaire, urbanisation has introduced many problems to the region, from sexual exploitation and human trafficking, to drug dealing and consumption. In addition, it’s led to the destruction of family life and cultural conflicts that lead to a “lack of sense of life”.
The document also touches on education, the key role families play in the sharing of indigenous traditions, and calls for the reform of Catholic seminaries in the region, so that the candidates to the priesthood can be inserted in the communities they will minister.
It also urges the incorporation of indigenous theology and the region’s “eco-theology” into pastoral plans and calls on the Church to have an active role in guaranteeing access to formal education and healthcare for the local population.
Inés San Martín is Rome Bureau Chief of cruxnow.com