Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Amazon Synod-Moving Forward in the Church With The Spirit

The news coming out of the Amazon Synod is quite dramatic and forward thinking. "Most bishops who lead dioceses in the Amazon support the ordination of married men of proven virtue, as a way of addressing the lack of priests in the region, said the retired Bishop Krautler of Xingu, Brazil, speaking to journalists after a Vatican press briefing on October 9th." (America Magazine)
How sad to read that there are thousands of indigenous communities in the Amazon who only celebrate Eucharist a few times a year. That's terrible. No Catholic should be deprived of the great gift and grace of Holy Communion. No wonder so many bishops from the Amazon are in support of married priests. They have a crisis on their hands. Sadly, there is degradation in parts of the Amazon rain forests, due to wildfires and exploitation and other pressures on indigenous people, at least they should have local priests celebrating Mass, the sacraments and available for pastoral care. It's as clear as day to me, it makes so much sense, that the crisis could be lessened by adapting and changing the church law of celibacy to meet the needs of the people of that region, who have spiritual and religious needs which are not being met.
What would Jesus do? Come Holy Spirit Come!
NJA