The Apostolic Exhortation is to have the same name as the preparatory document for the Synod: ‘New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology.’

By John-Henry Westen, LifeSite News, January 14, 2020

The Pope wants to publish a final document on the Amazon Synod by early February, if not the end of January, according to a confidential Vatican letter sent to bishops of the world dated January 13, 2020.

The letter. . . informs the prelates that another letter will come to them in about 10 days with more instructions and that they will be sent an embargoed copy of the exhortation prior to its public release.

The letter, which was leaked to LifeSiteNews and confirmed as authentic, was signed by Cardinal Claudio Hummes, the General Rapporteur of the Synod on the Amazon. It informs the prelates that another letter will come to them in about 10 days with more instructions and that they will be sent an embargoed copy of the exhortation prior to its public release.

The Apostolic Exhortation is to have the same name as the preparatory document for the Synod: New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology.

The letter hints at the contents of the final document by providing reading to prepare for the document’s presentation. It suggests that a press conference with the bishop about the new exhortation should include “an indigenous spokesperson if relevant in your area, an experienced pastoral leader (ordained or religious, layman or laywoman), an expert on climate or ecology, and a youth involved in peer ministry.”

Moreover, the letter also suggests preparation by way of reading documents including:

• Special Synod on the Amazon, FINAL DOCUMENT, 26.10.2019
  
• Pope Francis, MEETING WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF AMAZONIA, Puerto Maldonado, 19.1.2018
  
• Pope Francis, OPENING OF THE WORKS OF THE SPECIAL ASSEMBLY, 7.10.2019
  
• Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, INTRODUCTORY REPORT of the General Relator at the Synod, 7.10.2019
  
• Pope Francis, FINAL SPEECH to the Synod, 26.10.2019
  
• Pope Francis, LAUDATO SI’, 2015, especially chapter 5, “Lines of Approach and Action” and chapter 6, “Ecological Education and Spirituality”
  
  
  This article first appeared HERE