The synod, scheduled for Oct. 6-27, will focus on "Amazonia: New paths for the church and for an integral ecology."

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” we update you on who Pope Francis has chosen to make cardinals next month, and why the Bolsonaro government is nervous about the Synod on the Amazon.

October’s Synod on the Amazon gives the church an opportunity to hear the cries of the earth and the people of this richly diverse, life-giving and fragile region.

Describing the Amazon rainforest as "vital for our planet," Pope Francis joined the regions bishops in praying for action to extinguish the massive fires burning there.

A record number of wildfires and the rapid deforestation of the Amazon are prompting Latin American bishops to plead for international action, writes America’s correspondent in Brazil, Eduardo Campos Lima.

In a wide-ranging interview, Pope Francis warned of “sovereignism” as a force that leads to isolation and even war, and he discussed the ecological imperatives of the Synod on the Amazon.