The polyglot Jesuit said he was struck most by “the violence the indigenous people have to experience”: “It’s violence against the rainforest and at the same time violence against the ethnic groups.”

The Indian cardinal described his experience during the synod so far as an “eye-opener,” allowing him to discover connections to what indigenous communities in his native land are experiencing.

Video of the pre-dawn theft from the Santa Maria in Traspontina church was shared and celebrated on conservative social media on Oct. 21. The Vatican's communications czar, Paolo Ruffini, termed it a "stunt" that violated the idea of dialogue.

The synod is “not a discussion, not a parliament,” but there is “a spiritual dynamic,” said Giacomo Costa, S.J., the synod’s secretary for information, at a Vatican press briefing on Oct. 16. The biblical image, he said, is “the blind man who throws away his cloak to go to God,” and for the synod it means “to leave behind the safety of your arguments.”

“The synod is already a success by the very fact that it is happening,” said the Peruvian Jesuit, one of the president delegates of the Synod for the Amazon.

As the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon reaches its halfway point, leaders of indigenous communities are speaking with passion about what is at stake for their communities and their hopes for this synod.