Threats of Death for Those Who Desire To Protect Amazon

Last Friday Mr. John L. Allen Jr. posted a story about the Catholic bishops from the Brazilan State of Para. Para is the second largest state, and its northern region is home to more than 6 million people. Para is also home large portions of the Amazon River and the Amazon Rain Forest.

While this group of Brazilian bishops met with the pope in rome for their every-five-year visits, they also held a press conference. They acknowledge another threat than the death-threats against three of their number.

“A threat to the Amazon is a threat to the entire planet, and everyone has an obligation to defend it,” Kräutler said.

While the injustices surrounding the Amazon region are hardly new, the bishops wanted to sound a particular alarm about what they see as the latest chapter in that story: Construction of a massive hydroelectric dam, called Belo Monte, which has recently been approved by the Brazilian government.

The bishops are not opposed to technological progress; however, they do not want to see the disaster of dislocation of people, destruction of homes and disruptions to livelihoods and to society.
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Wiki-image by Raphael Lorenzeto de Abreu of map showing Para and surrounding Brazilian states is used by Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 license.