麻豆社

Good morning.

Catholic bishops gathered in Rome last year for a Synod on Amazonia. Pope Francis鈥檚 final statement on the Synod was published last week, in an apostolic exhortation titled Querida Amazonia (鈥淏eloved Amazonia鈥�). Rather than resolving controversies which arose around the ordination of married men and of women as deacons, he entrusts to the Amazonian bishops the authority to work through the challenges in ways that are appropriate to their cultures. His own contribution is not an authoritative papal diktat but a poetic and lyrical reflection on the beauties of God鈥檚 creation, a call for the Gospel to be inculturated so that worship and preaching reflect the lives of local communities, and a passionate condemnation of the exploitative practices which destroy the environment and wreak havoc on the lives of the poor.

The style of Querida Amazonia is in keeping with Pope Francis鈥檚 dialogical approach to leadership. Conflicts are not resolved by way of an imposed solution which leaves one side feeling embittered. Rather, both parties must embark upon a patient and prayerful process of discernment, trying to arrive at what he calls a 鈥渕ultifaceted harmony鈥�. In seeking consensus, they must be particularly attentive to the voices of those who are poor, and they must engage with lay leaders and representatives of indigenous communities. Our politicians could learn from this approach to dialogue. It constitutes a collaborative endeavour to serve the common good, rather than the combative rhetoric, short term strategies and personal ambitions which seem to drive our modern political culture.

Reactions to Querida Amazonia have been mixed. Conservatives are pleased that Pope Francis has not endorsed married priests or women deacons, while liberals express dismay that an opportunity for reform has been missed. The women鈥檚 networks I belong to are inspired by its overarching vision but are disappointed that, once again, Pope Francis鈥檚 representation of women is mired in romantic sexual stereotypes.

In spite of these reservations, as a Catholic woman I welcome this poetic and passionate vision. If, as Heidegger observed, to be human is to 鈥渋nhabit the house of language鈥�, then Pope Francis is urging us to see that if we are to change our way of being in the world, then we must change our way of speaking about the world. Querida Amazonia quotes poets more than theologians because, quoting Brazilian poet Vinicius de Moraes, it recognizes that 鈥漁nly poetry, with its humble voice, will be able to save this world.鈥�

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