South American church network forms for Gran Chaco zone, Guarani Aquifer
By Eduardo Campos Lima
EarthBeat
July 23, 2021
A new Catholic Church network has been organizing in South America to address social and environmental challenges in the Gran Chaco zone, a mostly arid region spanning parts of Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil. The new network is also focusing on the Guarani Aquifer, a gigantic underground water system that spreads to Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
The Gran Chaco and Guarani Aquifer Ecclesial Network is modeled on the nine-country Pan-Amazon Ecclesial Network (known as REPAM in Portuguese and Spanish), which was formed in 2013 and played a key role in preparations for the 2019 Synod of Bishops for the Amazon. The synod also served as a catalyst for the formation of the Mesoamerican Ecological Ecclesial Network in Mexico and Central America, the Ecclesial Network of the Congo Basin Forest in Africa and the River Above Asia and Oceania Ecclesial Network.