14 DAY TRIAL // 334 trees that were part and parcel of the Serra da Tiririca National Park have been cut down by Church employees in preparation for Pope Francis' visit to Rio de Janeiro.
Ecorazzi says the Pope will travel to this city to address the crowds gathered there to celebrate this year's World Youth Day.
For some reason, certain people believed that these trees would get between the Pope and his followers. Maybe they assumed the Pope's words would bounce off them and fail to reach the audience.
Whatever the reason, the fact remains that authorities in Brazil are anything but pleased with the destruction of these trees. More so since nobody had ever given the Church legal permission to clear the land.
“What was razed was the buffer zone of the Tiririca park. We would never have authorized that. It is a fragment of the endangered Atlantic rainforest. We will charge them with a crime,” environmentalist Andre Ilha told the press.
Wishing to make amends, the Church has promised that it would see to it that other trees are planted in the damaged area.