This archive report was first published on 27 October 2019.
On October 27, 2019, Pope Francis addressed the issue of environmental exploitation during a Mass at the Vatican, marking the end of a three-week assembly on the Pan-Amazonian region.
Francis emphasized that the poor are threatened by predatory models of development, which prioritize financial gain over the well-being of people and the planet.
He highlighted the devastating impact of these models, saying, "The mistakes of the past were not enough to stop the plundering of other persons and the inflicting of wounds on our brothers and sisters and on our sister earth: we have seen it in the scarred face of the Amazon region."
During the assembly, 184 Catholic bishops gathered with representatives of indigenous peoples, experts, and nuns to discuss regional concerns, including deforestation, climate change, land-grabbing, and the exploitation of indigenous peoples.
Francis also criticized those in positions of power who look down on others, considering them "backward and of little worth," and he acknowledged that even within the Church, there are those who scoff at the poor or silence them as inconvenient.
The pope warned that those who prey on or discard the vulnerable and weak will ultimately face consequences, saying that the poor are "the gatekeepers of heaven."
He emphasized that the poor are the ones who will determine whether the gates of eternal life are opened or closed.
On the final day of the assembly, the bishops issued a list of recommendations, including an appeal for Francis to make damaging the environment a sin and suggesting that married men of proven virtue could be allowed to join the priesthood in remote areas of the Amazon.
