The National Conference of Brazilian Bishops said in a statement it was "perplexed by the serious and violent occurrences" that erupted Jan. 8 in Brasilia, the nation's capital.
After the death in the Brazilian forest of an Indigenous man who was thought to be the last of his tribe and who shunned all contact with outsiders, Amazonian church leaders said it is more important than ever to protect the region's remaining semi-nomadic, isolated peoples.
2021 "was the most disastrous in the country's history" in terms of violence and rights violations against Indigenous peoples, according to a report from the Brazilian bishops' Indigenous Missionary Council.
A member of the São Paulo archdiocesan justice and peace commission said he hoped Pope Francis' message about "walking together" with Indigenous, whose have long faced violence over land rights, will be heard throughout Brazilian society.
