Amazon: “The man is not important”

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The Brazilian cardinal Hummes warns of the destruction of the Indigenous culture in the Amazon. The economic sacrifice people and the environment. And Hummes is of the essence in the DW-Interview on Church reforms.

Many people in the Amazon suffering. Mostly unnoticed by the world public. The former Curia, cardinal Claudio Hummes, presented this Wednesday in Berlin with an alarming report on the human rights situation of the indigenous population in the Amazon. The 84-Year-old is President of the international “Church network for the Amazon region” (Repam), which is supported by the German aid organizations Adveniat and Misereor.

DW: your Eminence, you have been campaigning for many years for the people in the Amazon region. How would you describe the Situation?

Cardinal Claudio Hummes encourages the rights of the Indigenous in the Amazon

Cardinal Hummes: the Pope Francis had wanted his Peru-visit to the beginning of 2018, a personal encounter with the Indigenous. He said that the indigenous peoples are those who are attacked the most, are most threatened. As the Bishop of the Amazon, I must say that this is really true.

What does that mean?

I have visited the whole of the Amazon region of Brazil, all 38 dioceses. There, I met people living in absolute poverty and abandonment, Indigenous in the jungle, people of the River courses, or small-scale farmers. And I can testify to what was said by the Pope. If nothing changes, you have to survive, these people have no Chance. And then the nature will be completely destroyed.

What is the basis of this poverty? It is the fault of the people?

Again, the people are really poor. There is nothing inside them, health care, education, everything. In addition, the permanent exploitation, the colonization of living in a state. They are adapted to our modern civilization. This is the culture of the White, Western population, and we ignore and destroy their dreams. You lose your culture. They are not subjects of their own history, we White people do it to objects.

How much of this pressure of economic interests is due?

Again and again, Indigenous in Brazil are protesting for their land rights. They often suffer from violence.

There is pressure from the state and from national or multi-national corporations. Since it is the maximum economic profit. The people play no role at all. All parties Involved are in breach of fundamental human rights. It comes to raw materials for the global market, also acreage. The man is not important. And also, the environment plays no role. It’s about the quick profit, quick money. Currently, we have the terrible Situation that more and more groundwater is contaminated. Because international corporations make use of methods that are prohibited in their home countries. At the Amazon cares no.

In the fall of 2019 in an Amazon-Synod is planned in the Vatican. If you are talking about in Germany, it’s mostly a shortage of priests in the sparsely populated area. What do you expect from the Synod?

If one focuses only on European topics and point of view, it would be a risk. Then we lose sight of the Essentials. And it is clear, it is a Synod, and not the Meeting of some NGO. That is to say: The religious issue in the foreground. We need to ask ourselves, which Church we want in the Amazon room. It is a Church that incarnated really, “hardcore”, and the signs of the time hear? The is really with the people on the road? With them lives, suffers, but also celebrates? We want to take account of a Church that is truly acculturated well, so cultural characteristics. As we ask ourselves, of course, what kind of Offices fit to this Church. We need a different Form of clergy, a Form that is native to the region. In this context, the question of the obligation to celibacy. And the question of the nature and the integrity of creation belongs to the whole of existence to this Church. This corresponds to the gospel, Pope Francis says in his Encyclical “Laudato si”.

What do you mean by native?

Pope Francis met in January of 2018, in Peru, Indigenous to the Amazon region.

It must be a Church with an indigenous face. It’s not just about defending the rights and lives of the Indigenous. Inculturation, to address this concern, it is not enough. But it really has to be an indigenous Church. This will be a key point in the Amazon-Synod. We need to think about what kind of Church support and the consecrated Offices we need in the Amazon Church. There must be new models. And in this indigenous Church is – this is important to me – in communion with the world Church to understand. We need the community’s diversity.