They had come together, he said, to “celebrate God’s faithfulness in our 50-year journey and also to celebrate our faithfulness to his call,” as well as to celebrate Father Arrupe and the 57 Jesuits who “sacrificed their lives in the struggle for justice and equality.”

The most important thing to emerge from the synod was the unequivocal commitment by the church to seek new ways to preach the Gospel and to promote justice and stand in solidarity with the Amazon’s 34 million inhabitants.

Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego spoke with America on Oct. 27, the day it ended, and shared his reflections on the main topics addressed by the synod and the proposals made in its final document.

Pope Francis strongly denounced “predatory models” that are posing a deadly threat to the lives of the 34 million inhabitants of the Amazonian region.

The most important thing to emerge from the synod was the unequivocal commitment by the church in the nine countries of the Amazon region to seek new ways to preach the Gospel and to promote justice and stand in solidarity with its 34 million inhabitants.

The Mexican cardinal said “integral ecology” and the need for “ecological conversion” have been central points of the synod. “We all agreed that the church should be a factor for wakening consciences to care for the common home,” he said.

The cardinal expects the synod’s final document to highlight the different levels of “responsibility towards Mother Earth, towards the natural environment, and on this we are all in agreement. What is said of Amazonia is also true of the Congo basin.”

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.

“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.