Ecumenical and interreligious dialogue at the Synod for the Amazon

The Synod for the Amazon had as its central theme: "Amazon: the new paths for the Church and for an integral ecology". Along with the social and environmental issues reflected in connection with the central theme, the Synod dealt with religious and ecclesial pluralism in the Amazon region. The intention was to affirm the conviction that there is a close link between dialogue and mission, with dialogue being understood as a constitutive element of the Church's mission. Among the various expressions of faith that exist in the Amazon region, the documents of the Synod show special attention to the religions of the indigenous peoples, to those of African origin and to Pentecostalism. Indigenous religions are assumed to be the preferred interlocutors of dialogue. From then on, we seek to explain how the dialogue shapes the "new paths" that the Church travels in the Amazon, through a process of evangelization that defends and promotes human and environmental life.