Pope in Peruvian rainforest demands justice for environmental defenders killed for protecting Amazon

Résumé détaillé

He called for a different model of economic development that respects the Earth and the Indigenous people who care for it.

PUCALLPA, Peru — From deep in the Peruvian rainforest, Pope Leo XIV on Sunday demanded justice for environmental defenders killed for protecting the Amazon and fully backed efforts by Indigenous peoples to stop their lands from being ravaged by logging and illegal exploitation.

On the penultimate day of his South American odyssey, Leo traveled to the northeastern Peruvian Amazon city of Pucallpa and channelled one of Pope Francis’ core teachings that links care for the most vulnerable with care for God’s creation.

“The cry of the earth and the cry of the poor are inseparable,” Leo told Indigenous representatives and missionaries gathered along the Ucayali River.

He said he came to Pucallpa to support them in their search for justice and peace and referred to what environmental groups estimate have been 57 murders of environmental defenders between 2010 and 2024.

“The blood of these brothers cries out to God and demands justice,” Leo said to applause from the crowd.

In addition to the decades-long problem of deforestation, illegal gold mining has become an increasingly lucrative business in the Amazon, devastating forests and polluting rivers. Miners use makeshift suction dredges and mercury, a toxic metal, to extract gold.

Raphael Hoetmer, Western Amazon program director at Amazon Watch, said wars and conflicts around the world have contributed to driving up the price of gold, increasing demand that, in turn, is resulting in more extraction from the Amazon.

“It’s causing pollution, health issues, and environmental degradation,” he said.

Illegal mining also drives deforestation and encroaches on Indigenous territories, threatening ancestral lands and exposing communities to violence and organized crime.

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