As the Synod of Bishops from the Amazon continues to make headlines, many are curious about the contents of its forthcoming report. According to Pope Francis, the synod’s goal is “to identify new paths for the evangelization of God’s people in that region,” with a particular emphasis on the region’s indigenous people, who are “often forgotten and without the prospect of a serene future.”
Unfortunately, given the working document that’s already been released, as well as the various participants involved, many expect these “new paths” to include the Roman Catholic Church’s ongoing flirtations with liberation theology. As Kishore Jayabalan recently wrote here on the blog, “The tendency to blame capitalism for the ills of the region, the animus against a hierarchical Church, and the hopes for a socialist utopia are alive and well in the synod preparations.”