Lise Alves

As representatives from nearly 200 countries gather for the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, environmental activists living in the Amazon region hope the conference's proposals will generate new projects in favor of the forest and the populations that live in the region.

The Brazilian bishops' conference congratulated Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for winning the nation's presidential election but noted there was still much work ahead.

Looking through the lens of Catholic social teaching, several Brazilian organizations were critical of actions by President Jair Bolsonaro, who faces former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the final round of presidential elections Oct. 30.

More than 6,000 Indigenous from 172 tribes gathered in Brasília, Brazil's capital, to march in defense of their land and against the policies of the Brazilian government. Along with Indigenous and environment groups, many religious also came out to Brasília to show their support.

The Diocese of Petrópolis and the city's parishes have opened their doors to assist victims of the torrential rainstorm that flooded the historic city of Petrópolis.

Formally installing catechists and lectors into their roles as lay leaders in the church is especially important as a recognition for women and men in places like the Amazon region.

In a video message, bishops from the Amazon region hope to mobilize society and pressure the Brazilian government and others at the U.N. climate change conference to adopt concrete and urgent measures to protect the rainforest.

Catholic leaders side with tribes in rejecting argument that Indigenous groups have rights only to territory they have physically occupied since 1985.

"The tragic loss of more than half a million lives is aggravated by accusations of malfeasance and corruption," prelates say of pandemic.

The bill in question would allow illegally deforested federal lands to become private holdings. "Land grabbing is responsible for one-third of deforestation in Brazil, in addition to promoting violence," said the bishops.

"The pandemic did not only affect those who live on the streets. It has hit even those who have homes." Catholic entities in Brazil are ramping up efforts to feed the increasing number of people going hungry.

The Brazilian bishops' conference and five civil society groups criticized the federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stating that Brazil's federal government denied the pandemic and appeared to sabotage public health, 380 Brazilian Christian leaders filed an impeachment request against President Jair Bolsonaro.

With the news that dozens of people were suffocating to death due to a lack of oxygen in hospitals in the Amazon city of Manaus, Catholic bishops pleaded for more supplies. 

The Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro has launched a partnership with a Canadian company to reduce plastic disposal into the oceans.

Retired Bishop Pedro Casaldáliga of São Félix, Brazil, was known for his unrelenting defense of the indigenous population and of the struggle of peasants for land ownership.

The draft of a letter signed by Brazilian bishops and scheduled to be presented to the executive committee of the bishops' conference is causing an uproar in the Brazilian media and church.

With the objective of giving more visibility to the increased violence against those who defend social and environmental rights, Brazil's Catholic Church has launched the "Life by a Thread" campaign.

Catholics who work in the Amazon say members of small, isolated villages believe the church could be more present in their lives if it allowed the ordination of married men — a plan being considered on a limited basis for the Amazon region.

The Brazilian bishops' Indigenous Missionary Council is holding the Brazilian government responsible for the assassination of indigenous leader Paulo Paulino Guajajara, one of the Guardians of the Forest in the Amazon.