Amazon Synod: Synod of the Church, Synod of the world?

Abstract

This essay reflects on the universal meanings for the Amazon Synod. It responds succinctly about the ecological and ecclesial dimensions of this universality. The ecclesial tradition reveals the constitutive relationship between the universal and the particular. Earth sciences expose the interrelation of parts with the whole, of ecosystems with the planetary whole. The ecclesial context of Pope Francis' pontificate is the condition for the emergence of the Amazon as an issue for the Church and the world. At the Synod, the Amazon was present in a real way both in the whole process of preparation and, in an impacting - if not scandalous - way in the synodal assembly.