While the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the Amazon aims to highlight the damage wrought by climate change and exploitation, the possibility of ordaining married men to minister in remote areas of the rainforest continues to garner more attention.
At the start of a mid-March gathering at Georgetown University, organizers asked church leaders, activists and members of indigenous communities to think of a person they knew who had worked in defense of the environment and to call out his or her name.
Pope Francis called for a special Synod of Bishops to focus on the Amazon region not primarily because of the rainforest's key role in the ecological health of the planet, but mostly because he sees pastoral needs there that require special attention.
