Indios shd have voice at synod on Amazonia - cardinal

Vatican City, October 17 - Indigenous people should have a voice at the synod on the Amazon region called by Pope Francis for October 2019, Cardinal Caludio Hummes said Tuesday. Hummes, head of the Pan-Amazon Ecclesial Network (REPAM), said "indigenous peoples have been protagonists of their history and as such deserve a voice at the synod". The pope announced the initiative on Sunday, to address the crisis of the sprawling rain forest that are the world's lungs as well as new paths of evangelisation for the Indios. Nine countries are concerned: Brazil (67% of the area), Peru (13%), Bolivia (11%), Colombia (6%), Ecuador (2%), Venezuela (1%), Suriname, Guyana and French Guyana (which together make up 0.15%). "It's a matter of thinking that this Synod must be an incarnate territorial experience," said REPAM executive secretary Mauricio Lopez.