Anitalia Pijachi, an indigenous woman from the Amazonian town of Leticia, Colombia, came to the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon bringing a message from the elders of her people to Pope Francis, an elder of the Catholic Church.

Participants expressed support for proposals to ordain women deacons and warned of the deadly consequences of climate change.

Sister Birgit Weiler told journalists on Oct. 11 that such changes would allow the church to become “a community of sisters and brothers, sharing faith, discerning together.”

On day four of the synod, the small language groups have begun to meet, signaling the moment in the synod process when “in a synodal way, everyone gives their contribution.”

"Our Christian faith and the church teach us to seek and to find God in all things, as St. Ignatius says in the Spiritual Exercises. There is no pantheism in this."

Bishop Kräutler said there are thousands of indigenous communities in the Amazon that “do not celebrate the Eucharist except perhaps one, two or three times a year.” The bishops in favor of ordaining married men, he said, “are not against celibacy. We just want these brothers and sisters of ours not to have just a celebration of the word but also the celebration of the Eucharist.”