VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday called for an end to the plundering of the Amazon basin, as he closed an assembly of Roman Catholic bishops who discussed the challenges the Church faces in the region.

Pope Francis leads a Mass to close a three-week synod of Amazonian bishops at the Vatican, October 27, 2019. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

The work of the assembly, known as a synod, ended on Saturday night with a final document containing a proposal that married men in the remote area be allowed to be ordained as priests.

The milestone proposal could lead to a landmark change in the Church’s centuries-old discipline of celibacy.

One of the