Voices from the Amazon Synod

By Vatican News

Participating in the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region is also a number of auditors and experts who listen in, and contribute to the work with their own testimonies and interventions.

Amongst them is Belgian film director Jean-Pierre Dutilleux, co-founder and Honorary President of the Forêt Vierge Association that advocates for the rights of indigenous peoples of the rainforest.

Dutilleux rose to international fame with his Academy Award nominated documentary “Raoni”, an investigation of the complex issues surrounding the survival of the remaining indigenous Indians of the Amazon rainforest and, indeed, of the rainforest itself.

He told Vatican Radio he is hopeful the Church will be able to provide concrete help on a grassroots level.

Josianne Gauthier is also amongst the auditors at the Amazon Synod.

Canadian-born  Gauthier is the Secretary General of Cidse,  an international network  of Catholic social justice organisations working for transformational change to end poverty and inequalities, challenging systemic injustice, inequity, destruction of nature and promoting just and environmentally sustainable alternatives.

She spoke to Vatican Radio about the importance of being aware of one’s personal footprint and impact on the environment and on some of the world’s most vulnerable peoples: the indigenous.