Father Enrique Bustamante, a companion on our missionary journey in the Amazon, called me a year ago with distressing news: “The sun is burning up the forest.”
The missionary priest continued, “My avocado plant was healthy and green. A couple of hours of intense sunshine has burned it up. The forests are burning everywhere here. People are very worried.“
I struggled to make out my friend’s words as he explained through tears, “Trees are being cut down and the jungle is burning. That is why the skies are full of smoke throughout Bolivia, and the sun is more intense.“
I met Father Bustamante while participating in a course called “Missionary Transformation of the Church” held at the Maryknoll Mission Center in Latin America. He asked us to give formation to the laity of his parish of St. Pius X in Cochabamba.
Maryknoll Father Paul Masson served for years in that parish, forming Small Christian Communities (also known as base ecclesial communities). Many Maryknoll priest and brother candidates have served there during their Overseas Training Program.
Three years ago, Father Bustamante, who belongs to the Archdiocese of Cochabamba, assumed the leadership of a parish in the Amazon region. The Virgen del Rosario Parish is located in Eterazama, in the Chapare Vicariate, an area of great pastoral need. He soon invited Maryknoll to join his work.
The invitation was a blessing. It renewed our commitment to the Amazon, coming not long after the Pan-Amazonian Synod convened by Pope Francis.
“I dream of an Amazon that fights for the rights of the poorest, of the native peoples, of the least, where their voice is heard and their dignity is promoted,“ says the pope in Querida Amazonia.
The Amazon occupies 65% of Bolivia‘s territory and covers nine countries. These People of God, as the pope calls them, are threatened by indiscriminate logging and the burning of the rainforests for the extension of crops and the planting of coca leaf.
We collaborate closely with Father Bustamante in TIPNIS, the Spanish acronym for the Isiboro Sécure Indigenous Territory and National Park. The Pastoral Project of the Chapare Vicariate covers the parishes Villa Tunari, Chipiriri, San Gabriel, Eterazama and Santísima Trinidad. One of the project’s priorities is the care of creation, along with the pope‘s call to build a church with an Indigenous face in the Amazon.
Our involvement includes both pastoral care and reforestation in the Amazon. We have opened tree nurseries for the breeding of native species of timber, ornamental and fruit trees. Maryknoll Seminarian Barrack Odeka has helped with this project in TIPNIS and also at our center in Cochabamba.
Father Bustamante is a tireless missionary. He does not shy away from promoting the cultivation of trees and raising awareness in the communities about changing habits that destroy the territory’s biodiversity. His message that day, relayed though heartbreak and tears that continue to flow, comes from a feeling of helplessness. Seeing that climate change is a reality, he also realizes that, to a large extent, it is due to our irresponsibility.
“I think of the human beings who live in the midst of these forests that continue to ignite,“ says Father Bustamante. “As a heritage of humanity, we have to look for ways to take care of the Amazon, value it and share it.“
What would those trees tell us about “the sun burning up the forest“? What would they demand from us? What would they say about our missionary commitment?
Perhaps, since “the sun is burning up the forest,“ it is time for the Spirit to ignite us with the fire and passion to care for our common home. The Gospel says, “Go into all the world, preach the Good News to all creation.“ (Mark 16:15)
Father Bustamante encourages us to be supportive and to reforest the jungle so that the children of the Amazon can be better fed. “Let‘s plant fruit trees that will feed many generations,“ he says. “We will help children live in dignity, so that they do not lose the richness that the Spirit of God has sown in their hearts, in their communities and in their heritage.“
Father Alejandro Marina is local superior of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers in Cochabamba, Bolivia.
Featured Image: Father Enrique Bustamante (far right) celebrates faith and culture with religious sisters and Trinitarian children in the Bolivian Amazon. (Courtesy of Enrique Bustamante/Bolivia)
