Deacon Andrade de Lima, the son of farmers who grew up on the banks of the Amazon River in the Solimões region, said he is involved in the formation of pastoral workers in the region and assists the bishops in the implementation of their decisions.

We women do not want to make waves; we do not want to upset people. But the moment for all of us to act is decidedly now.

On the eve of the highly anticipated voting on the final document of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazonian Region, Bishop Evaristo Pascoal Spengler, O.F.M., of Marajó, Brazil, chose to focus his remarks at the daily Vatican press briefing on Oct. 25 on the synod’s discernment of an “official ministry” for women.

The church needs the voices of women wherever important decisions are made—and it needs their voices now more than ever, speakers said during the three-day Women of the Church Conference.

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