Pope Francis appoints three cardinals to lead Amazon synod

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis appointed three delegate presidents for the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon.

The pope named as delegate presidents for the Oct. 6-27 assembly Cardinals Baltazar Porras Cardozo, 74, of Merida, Venezuela; Pedro Barreto Jimeno, 75, of Huancayo, Peru; and Joao Braz de Aviz, 72, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

The Vatican announced the appointments Sept. 7.

Though Pope Francis, as pontiff, is president of the synod, the three cardinals will take turns presiding over the synod's daily sessions. The delegate presidents are also responsible for guiding the work of the synod and assigning special tasks to certain members, when necessary.

The special assembly on the Pan-Amazonian region will discuss the theme, "New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology."

The main objectives, the pope has said, are to find new ways for the evangelization of the people in the region, especially the indigenous, to respond to situations of injustice in the region and to look at "the cause of the crisis of the Amazonian forest, lung of fundamental importance for our planet."