Augustinian prelate discusses threats to Peru’s Amazon region
June 16, 2025
» Continue to this story on Vatican News
CWN Editor's Note: The Spanish-born vicar apostolic of Iquitos, Peru, spoke with Vatican News about the challenges facing the Peruvian region of the Amazon River basin.
“The Peruvian Amazon and its indigenous communities, who live primarily in remote areas along the northern borders with Ecuador and Colombia, are subject to repeated threats: not only deforestation and pollution, but also the illegal activities of organized crime,” the agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication reported.
Bishop Miguel Cadenas Cardo, OSA, an Augustinian confrère of Pope Leo (who also ministered in Peru), said that “in the many years of my mission in Peru, I have witnessed many oil spills. They certainly cause enormous suffering among the local populations, due to the lack of water and food, but I have never seen anyone die.”
“Despite Pope Francis’s warning, some ten years ago, about the need for a change in energy approach, the focus on oil continues, and the environmental disaster is enormous,” added the prelate, who also serves as president of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM).
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