Latest news with #AIDESEP
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Leo will follow Francis.' Amazon Catholics hope the new pope will protect the rain forest
SAO PAULO (AP) — The bishop sat quietly near the front row, hands folded, listening as Indigenous leaders and church workers spoke about the threats to Peru's northern forests, a part of the Amazon rain forest. It was 2016, a year after Laudato Si, Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment. When he was up to speak, the bishop didn't preach though he was in his city of Chiclayo as host of a regional gathering. Instead, he reflected on things he had seen. 'It's a very important encyclical,' he said. 'It also represents something new in terms of this explicit expression of the church's concern for all of creation.' That bishop, Robert Prevost, is now Pope Leo XIV. 'He was always very welcoming, very close to the people,' Laura Vargas, secretary of the Interreligious Council of Peru, who helped organize the event, recalled in a phone interview with The Associated Press. 'He had no problem saying yes when we proposed it — he was genuinely interested in social pastoral work.' Since then, Prevost deepened his ties with interfaith environmental networks like the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative and Indigenous organizations such as AIDESEP, which place forest protection and rights at the center of Church concern. Such credentials have brought hope to clergymen and faithful in the Amazon region, a vast area with 48 million residents and 6.7 million square kilometers (2.6 million square miles) in South America. They see Chicago-born Prevost, who spent about two decades in Peru's countryside, as a pontiff who protect the region and fight against climate change. NAVIGATING THE AMAZON Many Catholics have said they believe Prevost's experience as bishop of Chiclayo, a city of 630,000 residents in Northern Peru and not too far from the Amazon, was one of the key reasons he was chosen. They also said the pontiff's hands-on experience in an impoverished area far from major cities could also serve him well in dealing with the Amazon and navigating its challenges. The Amazon is a key regulator of the climate, as its dense forests absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that when released into the atmosphere heats the planet. But many parts of the Amazon are under threat from a wide range of illegal activities: farmers clearing trees to raise cows, gold miners dredging rivers and destroying local ecosystems and land-grabbers seizing territories. Wildfires and droughts, exacerbated by climate change, have also hit Amazon communities hard in recent years. Prevost is well acquainted with these issues, having presided over the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, which helped him bond with colleagues of the nine countries touched by the Amazon. Many of them are among the 105 bishops of an organization he openly supports, the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network, a Catholic Church network focused on the Amazon region. 'I spoke to him a number times about the Amazon and the environment. He doesn't need to be convinced of its importance,' said Cardinal Pedro Barreto, the president of the network, who has known Prevost since he became the bishop of Chiclayo in 2015. Brazilian Friar Paulo Xavier agrees. 'Leo will follow Francis; we are going forward with environment protection," Xavier said. 'The Holy Spirit has acted on our behalf.' Xavier is based in Manaus, a city of 2 million residents in the Amazon which received its first-ever cardinal appointed by Francis in 2022: the now 74-year-old archbishop Leonardo Steiner, an enthusiast of Laudato Si. Steiner, Xavier and the Manaus archdiocese have invested to get the encyclical into the hands of locals, even when that means jumping on small, motorized canoes through the brown waters of the Negro River to reach isolated villages in journeys that can last days on a boat. POPE FOR ACTION In November 2024, the Vatican News reported that Prevost called for more action to tackle climate change and protect the environment during a seminar in Rome. He cited efforts the Vatican has taken such as installing solar panels and electric vehicles. On the social media platform X, Prevost has reposted messages about protecting the environment. One message he reposted on April 1, 2017, expressed concern about emissions of carbon dioxide, a planet-warming gas, during President Donald Trump's his first term. Laura Vicuña, an Indigenous woman of the Kariri people and the vice president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon Region, said in a letter published on social media that she hopes the pope will be an ally in the fight against climate change. The conference was created by Francis in 2020 to promote discussion between clergymen and laypeople. 'From our dear Amazon, we plead with you to be our ally in the defense of what is the most sacred for us; life, land and rights,' Vicuña wrote. Indigenous peoples like Vicuña's Kariri are often regarded as key protectors of the Amazon, but for many years they have been forced out of their lands by criminals, deforestation and famine, as seen in the Yanomami lands in Northern Brazil in 2023. Spaniard Luis Ventura, the executive-secretary of Brazil's Indigenous Missionary Council, said he prays for the new pope to keep his eyes close to the Amazon, with a special attention to the Indigenous. Founded in 1972, the council had rare occasions to meet with pontiffs until Francis rose in 2013. Its members hope Leo doesn't change that. 'Leo XIV will have a big impact on the Amazon," said Ventura. 'His life was always with the people in Peru, and that allows us to think the church will be deep into the territory.' CLIMATE URGENCY Francis showed great interest in the Amazon during his pontificate. Four years after Laudato Si, he hosted the Amazon Synod, which sought 'new Paths for the Church and for an integral ecology.' Rose Bertoldo, one of the secretaries of the Manaus archdiocese, said she is hopeful for the region's future under Leo, given it would build on Francis' interest. She added the new pontiff will have a chance to visit Brazil, the nation with the most Catholics in the world, during this year's U.N. climate summit, known as COP30, in the Amazonian city of Belem in November. 'We know that the urgencies and the challenges in the Amazon will be bigger because of the global political context of division. We need him at COP,' Bertoldo said. Irish priest Peter Hughes, who spent most of his life in Peru, met Prevost shortly after he arrived in the Andean nation in 1985. They quickly became friends, and would see each other when the bishop of Chiclayo was in the capital Lima. 'Back then, (Prevost) was worried about extractivism in the Amazon and the effect it had on the poor," said Hughes, referring to the new pontiff. 'Now it is a much more complex world, the urgency is evident.' ____ Grattan reported from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Associated Press writer Isabella O'Malley contributed from Philadelphia. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Associated Press
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
'Leo will follow Francis.' Amazon Catholics hope the new pope will protect the rain forest
SAO PAULO (AP) — The bishop sat quietly near the front row, hands folded, listening as Indigenous leaders and church workers spoke about the threats to Peru's northern forests, a part of the Amazon rain forest. It was 2016, a year after Laudato Si, Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment. When he was up to speak, the bishop didn't preach though he was in his city of Chiclayo as host of a regional gathering. Instead, he reflected on things he had seen. 'It's a very important encyclical,' he said. 'It also represents something new in terms of this explicit expression of the church's concern for all of creation.' That bishop, Robert Prevost, is now Pope Leo XIV. 'He was always very welcoming, very close to the people,' Laura Vargas, secretary of the Interreligious Council of Peru, who helped organize the event, recalled in a phone interview with The Associated Press. 'He had no problem saying yes when we proposed it — he was genuinely interested in social pastoral work.' Since then, Prevost deepened his ties with interfaith environmental networks like the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative and Indigenous organizations such as AIDESEP, which place forest protection and rights at the center of Church concern. Such credentials have brought hope to clergymen and faithful in the Amazon region, a vast area with 48 million residents and 6.7 million square kilometers (2.6 million square miles) in South America. They see Chicago-born Prevost, who spent about two decades in Peru's countryside, as a pontiff who protect the region and fight against climate change. NAVIGATING THE AMAZON Many Catholics have said they believe Prevost's experience as bishop of Chiclayo, a city of 630,000 residents in Northern Peru and not too far from the Amazon, was one of the key reasons he was chosen. They also said the pontiff's hands-on experience in an impoverished area far from major cities could also serve him well in dealing with the Amazon and navigating its challenges. The Amazon is a key regulator of the climate, as its dense forests absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that when released into the atmosphere heats the planet. But many parts of the Amazon are under threat from a wide range of illegal activities: farmers clearing trees to raise cows, gold miners dredging rivers and destroying local ecosystems and land-grabbers seizing territories. Wildfires and droughts, exacerbated by climate change, have also hit Amazon communities hard in recent years. Prevost is well acquainted with these issues, having presided over the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, which helped him bond with colleagues of the nine countries touched by the Amazon. Many of them are among the 105 bishops of an organization he openly supports, the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network, a Catholic Church network focused on the Amazon region. 'I spoke to him a number times about the Amazon and the environment. He doesn't need to be convinced of its importance,' said Cardinal Pedro Barreto, the president of the network, who has known Prevost since he became the bishop of Chiclayo in 2015. Brazilian Friar Paulo Xavier agrees. 'Leo will follow Francis; we are going forward with environment protection,' Xavier said. 'The Holy Spirit has acted on our behalf.' Xavier is based in Manaus, a city of 2 million residents in the Amazon which received its first-ever cardinal appointed by Francis in 2022: the now 74-year-old archbishop Leonardo Steiner, an enthusiast of Laudato Si. Steiner, Xavier and the Manaus archdiocese have invested to get the encyclical into the hands of locals, even when that means jumping on small, motorized canoes through the brown waters of the Negro River to reach isolated villages in journeys that can last days on a boat. POPE FOR ACTION In November 2024, the Vatican News reported that Prevost called for more action to tackle climate change and protect the environment during a seminar in Rome. He cited efforts the Vatican has taken such as installing solar panels and electric vehicles. On the social media platform X, Prevost has reposted messages about protecting the environment. One message he reposted on April 1, 2017, expressed concern about emissions of carbon dioxide, a planet-warming gas, during President Donald Trump's his first term. Laura Vicuña, an Indigenous woman of the Kariri people and the vice president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon Region, said in a letter published on social media that she hopes the pope will be an ally in the fight against climate change. The conference was created by Francis in 2020 to promote discussion between clergymen and laypeople. 'From our dear Amazon, we plead with you to be our ally in the defense of what is the most sacred for us; life, land and rights,' Vicuña wrote. Indigenous peoples like Vicuña's Kariri are often regarded as key protectors of the Amazon, but for many years they have been forced out of their lands by criminals, deforestation and famine, as seen in the Yanomami lands in Northern Brazil in 2023. Spaniard Luis Ventura, the executive-secretary of Brazil's Indigenous Missionary Council, said he prays for the new pope to keep his eyes close to the Amazon, with a special attention to the Indigenous. Founded in 1972, the council had rare occasions to meet with pontiffs until Francis rose in 2013. Its members hope Leo doesn't change that. 'Leo XIV will have a big impact on the Amazon,' said Ventura. 'His life was always with the people in Peru, and that allows us to think the church will be deep into the territory.' CLIMATE URGENCY Francis showed great interest in the Amazon during his pontificate. Four years after Laudato Si, he hosted the Amazon Synod, which sought 'new Paths for the Church and for an integral ecology.' Rose Bertoldo, one of the secretaries of the Manaus archdiocese, said she is hopeful for the region's future under Leo, given it would build on Francis' interest. She added the new pontiff will have a chance to visit Brazil, the nation with the most Catholics in the world, during this year's U.N. climate summit, known as COP30, in the Amazonian city of Belem in November. 'We know that the urgencies and the challenges in the Amazon will be bigger because of the global political context of division. We need him at COP,' Bertoldo said. Irish priest Peter Hughes, who spent most of his life in Peru, met Prevost shortly after he arrived in the Andean nation in 1985. They quickly became friends, and would see each other when the bishop of Chiclayo was in the capital Lima. 'Back then, (Prevost) was worried about extractivism in the Amazon and the effect it had on the poor,' said Hughes, referring to the new pontiff. 'Now it is a much more complex world, the urgency is evident.' ____ Grattan reported from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Associated Press writer Isabella O'Malley contributed from Philadelphia. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
The Independent
10-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
'Leo will follow Francis.' Amazon Catholics hope the new pope will protect the rain forest
The bishop sat quietly near the front row, hands folded, listening as Indigenous leaders and church workers spoke about the threats to Peru's northern forests, a part of the Amazon rain forest. It was 2016, a year after Laudato Si, Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment. When he was up to speak, the bishop didn't preach though he was in his city of Chiclayo as host of a regional gathering. Instead, he reflected on things he had seen. 'It's a very important encyclical,' he said. 'It also represents something new in terms of this explicit expression of the church's concern for all of creation.' That bishop, Robert Prevost, is now Pope Leo XIV. 'He was always very welcoming, very close to the people,' Laura Vargas, secretary of the Interreligious Council of Peru, who helped organize the event, recalled in a phone interview with The Associated Press. 'He had no problem saying yes when we proposed it — he was genuinely interested in social pastoral work.' Since then, Prevost deepened his ties with interfaith environmental networks like the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative and Indigenous organizations such as AIDESEP, which place forest protection and rights at the center of Church concern. Such credentials have brought hope to clergymen and faithful in the Amazon region, a vast area with 48 million residents and 6.7 million square kilometers (2.6 million square miles) in South America. They see Chicago-born Prevost, who spent about two decades in Peru's countryside, as a pontiff who protect the region and fight against climate change. NAVIGATING THE AMAZON Many Catholics have said they believe Prevost's experience as bishop of Chiclayo, a city of 630,000 residents in Northern Peru and not too far from the Amazon, was one of the key reasons he was chosen. They also said the pontiff's hands-on experience in an impoverished area far from major cities could also serve him well in dealing with the Amazon and navigating its challenges. The Amazon is a key regulator of the climate, as its dense forests absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that when released into the atmosphere heats the planet. But many parts of the Amazon are under threat from a wide range of illegal activities: farmers clearing trees to raise cows, gold miners dredging rivers and destroying local ecosystems and land-grabbers seizing territories. Wildfires and droughts, exacerbated by climate change, have also hit Amazon communities hard in recent years. Prevost is well acquainted with these issues, having presided over the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, which helped him bond with colleagues of the nine countries touched by the Amazon. Many of them are among the 105 bishops of an organization he openly supports, the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network, a Catholic Church network focused on the Amazon region. 'I spoke to him a number times about the Amazon and the environment. He doesn't need to be convinced of its importance,' said Cardinal Pedro Barreto, the president of the network, who has known Prevost since he became the bishop of Chiclayo in 2015. Brazilian Friar Paulo Xavier agrees. 'Leo will follow Francis; we are going forward with environment protection," Xavier said. 'The Holy Spirit has acted on our behalf.' Xavier is based in Manaus, a city of 2 million residents in the Amazon which received its first-ever cardinal appointed by Francis in 2022: the now 74-year-old archbishop Leonardo Steiner, an enthusiast of Laudato Si. Steiner, Xavier and the Manaus archdiocese have invested to get the encyclical into the hands of locals, even when that means jumping on small, motorized canoes through the brown waters of the Negro River to reach isolated villages in journeys that can last days on a boat. POPE FOR ACTION In November 2024, the Vatican News reported that Prevost called for more action to tackle climate change and protect the environment during a seminar in Rome. He cited efforts the Vatican has taken such as installing solar panels and electric vehicles. On the social media platform X, Prevost has reposted messages about protecting the environment. One message he reposted on April 1, 2017, expressed concern about emissions of carbon dioxide, a planet-warming gas, during President Donald Trump's his first term. Laura Vicuña, an Indigenous woman of the Kariri people and the vice president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon Region, said in a letter published on social media that she hopes the pope will be an ally in the fight against climate change. The conference was created by Francis in 2020 to promote discussion between clergymen and laypeople. 'From our dear Amazon, we plead with you to be our ally in the defense of what is the most sacred for us; life, land and rights,' Vicuña wrote. Indigenous peoples like Vicuña's Kariri are often regarded as key protectors of the Amazon, but for many years they have been forced out of their lands by criminals, deforestation and famine, as seen in the Yanomami lands in Northern Brazil in 2023. Spaniard Luis Ventura, the executive-secretary of Brazil's Indigenous Missionary Council, said he prays for the new pope to keep his eyes close to the Amazon, with a special attention to the Indigenous. Founded in 1972, the council had rare occasions to meet with pontiffs until Francis rose in 2013. Its members hope Leo doesn't change that. 'Leo XIV will have a big impact on the Amazon," said Ventura. 'His life was always with the people in Peru, and that allows us to think the church will be deep into the territory.' CLIMATE URGENCY Francis showed great interest in the Amazon during his pontificate. Four years after Laudato Si, he hosted the Amazon Synod, which sought 'new Paths for the Church and for an integral ecology.' Rose Bertoldo, one of the secretaries of the Manaus archdiocese, said she is hopeful for the region's future under Leo, given it would build on Francis' interest. She added the new pontiff will have a chance to visit Brazil, the nation with the most Catholics in the world, during this year's U.N. climate summit, known as COP30, in the Amazonian city of Belem in November. 'We know that the urgencies and the challenges in the Amazon will be bigger because of the global political context of division. We need him at COP,' Bertoldo said. Irish priest Peter Hughes, who spent most of his life in Peru, met Prevost shortly after he arrived in the Andean nation in 1985. They quickly became friends, and would see each other when the bishop of Chiclayo was in the capital Lima. 'Back then, (Prevost) was worried about extractivism in the Amazon and the effect it had on the poor," said Hughes, referring to the new pontiff. 'Now it is a much more complex world, the urgency is evident.' ____ Grattan reported from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Associated Press writer Isabella O'Malley contributed from Philadelphia. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Peru's Indigenous leaders raise concerns over oil and gas projects
Steven GrattanAssociated Press BOGOTA, Colombia — Indigenous leaders from the Peruvian Amazon who are calling for the government to stop oil and gas projects in their territory took their case to an international human rights body on Tuesday. The leaders presented evidence of the impact of oil and gas exploration at a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. They said the projects violate Indigenous rights by threatening their land, health and food security and are in breach of international obligations that require Indigenous groups to be consulted. The Indigenous leaders are represented by the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest, or AIDESEP. The group argues that the projects also pose risks to uncontacted Indigenous groups and also noted specific impact on Indigenous women. During the meeting, the Peruvian government said it is a democratic state which respects law and guarantees human rights to all its citizens and that it is committed to strengthening it. But Julio Cusurichi Palacios, a member of AIDESEP's Board of Directors from the Madre de Dios region of the Amazon said the government "have stated things that are not in accordance with what is happening in reality." 'The rights of Indigenous peoples are not being respected, the contamination of our rivers and territories continues, there are threats to uncontacted Indigenous Peoples, more regulations that make environmental standards more flexible, and oil and gas lots continue to be promoted,' he told The Associated Press after the hearing. The government denied most of the claims made by the Indigenous groups and did not reply to AP's requests for comment. Recent reports have found that the Peruvian government continues to auction Indigenous lands for oil and gas exploration. Approximately 75 percent of the Peruvian Amazon — home to 21 Indigenous groups — is covered by oil and gas concessions, many of which overlap with Indigenous territories, according to the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. 'I believe this situation has been getting increasingly worse," Cesar Ipenza, an environmental lawyer who took part in the hearing, told AP. 'There's a policy of promoting extractive activities in highly vulnerable areas, especially in the Amazon.' He added that the impact on the environment and the lack of communication with Indigenous groups is already evident, but 'the Peruvian state claims that everything is fine and that there are no problems with oil and gas activities.' The commission has asked the Peruvian government to provide written responses to the claims, focusing on their protocols for handling oil spills and supporting affected communities. Joint data from several Peruvian organizations has documented 831 oil spills in the Peruvian Amazon. There are at least 20 uncontacted tribes in Peru that live in the most remote, uncontacted regions of the Amazon rainforest, according to Survival International, an advocacy group for Indigenous peoples. Survival International told AP the recent appearance of dozens of uncontacted Mashco-Piro people near logging concessions inside their territory, and subsequent deadly encounters between logging workers and the Indigenous people, underline just how vulnerable these groups have become. 'Because they've failed to get redress in Peru, Indigenous organizations there have turned to international fora like the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights,' said Teresa Mayo, Peru researcher for Survival International. 'They want the Commission to force Peru to abide by the international laws and treaties it's signed up to, rather than ignore those aspects which it finds inconvenient.'
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Peru's Indigenous leaders raise concerns over oil and gas projects at a human rights hearing
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Indigenous leaders from the Peruvian Amazon who are calling for the government to stop oil and gas projects in their territory took their case to an international human rights body on Tuesday. The leaders presented evidence of the impact of oil and gas exploration at a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. They said the projects violate Indigenous rights by threatening their land, health and food security and are in breach of international obligations that require Indigenous groups to be consulted. The Indigenous leaders are represented by the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest, or AIDESEP. The group argues that the projects also pose risks to uncontacted Indigenous groups and also noted specific impact on Indigenous women. During the meeting, the Peruvian government said it is a democratic state which respects law and guarantees human rights to all its citizens and that it is committed to strengthening it. But Julio Cusurichi Palacios, a member of AIDESEP's Board of Directors from the Madre de Dios region of the Amazon said the government "have stated things that are not in accordance with what is happening in reality." 'The rights of Indigenous peoples are not being respected, the contamination of our rivers and territories continues, there are threats to uncontacted Indigenous Peoples, more regulations that make environmental standards more flexible, and oil and gas lots continue to be promoted,' he told The Associated Press after the hearing. The government denied most of the claims made by the Indigenous groups and did not reply to AP's requests for comment. Recent reports have found that the Peruvian government continues to auction Indigenous lands for oil and gas exploration. Approximately 75% of the Peruvian Amazon — home to 21 Indigenous groups — is covered by oil and gas concessions, many of which overlap with Indigenous territories, according to the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. 'I believe this situation has been getting increasingly worse," Cesar Ipenza, an environmental lawyer who took part in the hearing, told AP. 'There's a policy of promoting extractive activities in highly vulnerable areas, especially in the Amazon.' He added that the impact on the environment and the lack of communication with Indigenous groups is already evident, but 'the Peruvian state claims that everything is fine and that there are no problems with oil and gas activities.' The commission has asked the Peruvian government to provide written responses to the claims, focusing on their protocols for handling oil spills and supporting affected communities. Joint data from several Peruvian organizations has documented 831 oil spills in the Peruvian Amazon. There are at least 20 uncontacted tribes in Peru that live in the most remote, uncontacted regions of the Amazon rainforest, according to Survival International, an advocacy group for Indigenous peoples. Survival International told AP the recent appearance of dozens of uncontacted Mashco-Piro people near logging concessions inside their territory, and subsequent deadly encounters between logging workers and the Indigenous people, underline just how vulnerable these groups have become. 'Because they've failed to get redress in Peru, Indigenous organizations there have turned to international fora like the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights,' said Teresa Mayo, Peru researcher for Survival International. 'They want the Commission to force Peru to abide by the international laws and treaties it's signed up to, rather than ignore those aspects which it finds inconvenient.' — The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
