Pope apologizes for theft of Pachamama, says she could be back Sunday
John L. Allen Jr.
- Oct 25, 2019
In
this photo taken on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, members of Amazon
indigenous populations walk during a Via Crucis (Way of the Cross)
procession from St. Angelo Castle to the Vatican. In foreground is a
wooden statue portraying a naked pregnant woman. Pope Francis’s meeting
on the Amazon is wrapping up after three weeks of debate over married
priests, the environment _ and the destruction of indigenous statues
that underscored the willingness of conservatives to violently vent
their opposition to the pope. (Credit: AP Photo/Andrew Medichini).
ROME - It’s become the symbolically defining storyline of the 2019 Synod of Bishops on the Amazon, and on Friday the drama surrounding the “Pachamama,” the indigenous statuettes of a naked pregnant woman that were stolen from a Rome church and tossed into the Tiber River, took yet another turn with an unexpected papal apology.
As he opened the afternoon session of the Oct. 6-27 synod Friday, Pope Francis addressed the theft of the statues on Oct. 21.
Saying he was speaking as the “Bishop of Rome,” meaning the head of the local church in the Eternal City, Francis requested “pardon” from anyone who was offended by the theft of the statues and their being thrown into the river.
Francis also added that Roman law enforcement officials have recovered the discarded statues and are holding them for the moment at a police station.
Friday’s apology caps what has been a month-long drama surrounding the statues, which first made an appearance during an Oct. 4 indigenous prayer service staged in the Vatican gardens in the presence of the pope.
Traditionalist and conservative critics immediately objected to what they saw as the idolatry of a pagan image unfolding on Vatican grounds, while some papal defenders insisted that the image was actually an indigenous depiction of the Visitation, when a pregnant Mary visited her relative Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist
.
Eventually Vatican spokesmen rejected both of those explanations, saying the images, which are only about a foot and a half tall, are simply expressions of indigenous reverence for life and devoid of any particular religious or spiritual significance.
“We know that some things in history can have many interpretations, and even in the Church you can find things that come from the past, but the statue simply represents life, period, while trying to see symbols of paganism is seeing evil where it’s not there,” said Italian layman Paolo Ruffini, the Vatican’s top communications official.
That did not quiet the controversy, however, as opinion on both sides of the debate sprouted both in social media and in Catholic news agencies.
In the meantime, after the images were carried during the synod’s opening procession Oct. 6 from St. Peter’s Basilica to the Vatican’s Synod Hall, they were displayed in the Traspontina church, where some bishops taking part in the summit have been conducting liturgies after the synod’s daily work is over.
On Tuesday, someone took public credit for the theft and discarding of the images: A 53-year-old Italian named Davide Fabbri, who goes by the pseudonym of “Padre Davide” and calls himself a “deacon exorcist” but, according to Italian media, is not actually ordained by the Catholic Church.
Fabbri released a video message on Youtube saying he was the one who took the statues, claiming they represented “satanism.”
Fabbri is a well-known personality in far-right political circles in Italy, who was once given a suspended jail sentence and a fine for a public defense of fascism in violation of Italian hate speech laws and for claiming, without confirmation, to be a distant relative of Benito Mussolini. Fabbri has also been filmed wearing clerical outfits during political rallies staged by Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy’s far-right Lega party known for its hardline anti-immigrant stance and the country’s former Deputy Prime Minister.
In the meantime, Pope Francis told members of the Synod of Bishops that the commander of the Italian military police, who have the statues, suggested they could be displayed during the closing Mass on Sunday, and that he’s asked the Vatican’s Secretary of State to respond.
26 comments:
I am thankful for the Vicar Of Christ's comments in question.
Not once throughout this preposterous saga did I believe for a second that Pope Francis and the Vatican Gardens organizers/participants had engaged in idolatry.
The evidence/information was overwhelming in that the icon was not pagan.
That is true, most especially, as the icon was presented to His Holiness Pope Francis under the title "Our Lady of the Amazon."
The priest involved in having organized the Vatican Gardens declared that the icon represented the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The 2018 A.D. video from REPAM, one of the Vatican Garden's organizer, identified the icon as that of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Even when Vatican spokesmen, as well as this or that Bishop, priest, religious from the Amazon, did not identify the icon as the Blessed Virgin Mary, they, in turn, rejected the claim that linked the icon to paganism.
Example: Bishop David Martinez De Aguirre Guinea, apostolic vicar of Puerto Maldonado, Peru, said:
"...we don’t need to create any connections with the Virgin Mary or with a pagan element."
The bottom line is that one Church-related person after another — Bishop, priest, religious, layman — associated with the Vatican Gardens Event and/or Amazon region — has rejected the notion that the icon was pagan.
Among all folks, His Holiness Pope Francis has made that clear.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
The headline on the FSSPX.news site today has it exactly right:
Synod on the Amazon: Still Terrible
From the SSPX article:
“The only consolation in this ocean of macabre buffoonery: the brave gesture of a Catholic man picking up the idolatrous statuettes displayed in the church of Santa Maria in Traspontina and throwing them into the Tiber. A return to the sources, or rather the primitive sewers, that one would like to be definitive.
These figurines represent sad pregnant women symbolizing Pachamama (Mother Earth), a pagan goddess worshiped by the Incas. This is a cult that the cult of the Virgin Mary had succeeded in chasing out, thanks to the centuries-long efforts of the Faith and the charity of missionaries. Alas! that was before Vatican II and the inculturation and apostasy of the men of the Church.”
Mark Thomas, this is the last comment you will make on this topic on my blog. The Vatican has clearly stated that these statues are not the Blessed Virgin Mary, but the amazon symbol of the earth and fertility.
On one level it can be compared to mother nature in our culture, but it is not, and the Vatican has confirmed this, as well as Pope Francis, it is not the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Today, the pope, Pope Francis referred to these statues by their actual name, Pacchamma, not the Blessed Virgin Mary!
From Wikipedia: Pachamama is a goddess revered by the indigenous people of the Andes. She is also known as the earth/time mother.[1] In Inca mythology, Pachamama is a fertility goddess who presides over planting and harvesting, embodies the mountains, and causes earthquakes. She is also an ever-present and independent deity who has her own self-sufficient and creative power to sustain life on this earth.[1] Her shrines are hallowed rocks, or the boles of legendary trees, and her artists envision her as an adult female bearing harvests of potatoes and coca leaves.[2] The four cosmological Quechua principles – Water, Earth, Sun, and Moon[2] – claim Pachamama as their prime origin. Priests sacrifice llamas, cuy (guinea pigs), and elaborate, miniature, burned garments to her.[3] Pachamama is the mother of Inti the sun god and Mama Killa the moon goddess. Pachamama is said to also be the wife of Inti, her son.
In pre-Hispanic culture, Pachamama was often a cruel goddess eager to collect her sacrifices. After the conquest by Spain, conversion to Roman Catholicism took place and the figure of the Virgin Mary was equated with that of the Pachamama for many of the indigenous people.[4]
As Andean cultures form modern nations, Pachamama remains benevolent, giving,[5] and a local name for Mother Nature. Thus, many in South America believe that problems arise when people take too much from nature because they are taking too much from Pachamama.[6]
If I could get to Rome, I would see to their removal myself, but alas....
OK Father, so he got it wrong. Do you have to banish him?
All of this rationalizing doesn't change the fact that the pope is behind sticking pagan idols in a Catholic Church.
What an embarrassment.
That's right Father---the Pope described the statues as "Pachamama" statues---regardless of the earlier reluctance, evasiveness and hemming and hawing of the Vatican spokesman. It is what it is and at least the Holy Father is being straight about what they are.
However, I agree with Cardinal Mueller--they never should have been displayed in a church. I don't see how there can be a "non-idolatrous display" of pagan goddess statues in a Catholic church.
Fr. Allan J. McDonald said..."Mark Thomas, this is the last comment you will make on this topic on my blog."
Mark and several others have been telling us that the statue was the Blessed Virgin and that the pope thought so.
Well, the pope just blew their lying fabrications right out of the water, specifically, the River Tiber.
The statue is an idol, Pachamama, and the pope has admitted it.
Saint Paul says that idols are demons. What we witnessed at the Vatican is the worship of a demon, in the presence of the pope.
The punishment is on its way.
You do not have to wonder why Hispanics are leaving the Catholic Church in droves. The Pentecostals and Evangelicals are proselytising Catholics with great fervour, using the argument that Catholics are idol worshipers, going against the very first Commandment of God. This pope's latest stunts just will confirm this for many people and not just Hispanics. Watch the Catholic Church even more quickly now disappear from the Southern Hemisphere, and the Pentecostals, who only worship God by the way, will become the majority.
No wonder this pope is not too popular in Argentina from whence he came, and elsewhere he is destroying the Catholic Church.
Sunday, the day the sadist Francis plans to install Pachamama at St Peter's (if MT doesn't like 'install' how about 'honor') is the Feast of Christ the King.
Sorry, but to me this seems very demonic.
I cannot understand MT at all.
Good, the Pope should apologize. Tossing those statues is an embarrassment. The indigenous people of the Amazon knew nothing of the battle between fractions the Church , they were used as pawns.
To see someone like Mark Thomas is to understand how the Conciliar religion came into existence with very little protest from the faithful.
OK. So it’s a challenge. Like stealing Navy’s goat.
"Pachamamma" = idol; so says various sources written long before this episode by disinterested sources.
Pope calls statues in question "pachamama."
Statues in question are _________ (fill in the blank).
If you need help, recall basic logic:
A = B; B = C; ergo, A = C.
Reading Father Clark in the Southern Cross and I’m wondering what happened to the orthodox priest I thought I knew back in the day at the Cathedral. I now use the Southern Cross to clean my windows.
I am Christeros.
Viva Christo Rey
I would not be surprised if something happens .....this is ridiculous....it's time for the pope to go on a one way trip to Argentina, and not be allowed any communication devices, microphones, planes, or ageing journalists near him....Enough is enough. I pray God that someone is able to see these idols removed, and this time destroyed with a wood chipper.
I too would like to apologize.
I wish to apologize to all the Protestants I know for the scandal our pope has given.
I wish to apologize to all of the Protestants and unbelievers to whom I have tried to witness the truths of the Catholic faith for the weak, shameful and poor example our "leader" has given to the faithful by caving in to the most dissolute factions in our Church.
I apologize. I am ashamed. I am embarrassed. I pray that our punishment as Catholics will soon end and we will actually get a pope who understands how to lead, how to govern and gets the basic catechism. Until that happens, I will accept what St. John Eudes said about a the sign of bad priests in our Church and pray that I can repent enough and more Catholics will repent of the craven way we handed our faith over to the wolves and how we have given in so easily to the world, the flesh and the devil.
May God have mercy on us.
Those guys who threw the idols in the Tiber SHOULD apologize!
They need to apologize for failing to BURN the stupid things.
"The indigenous people of the Amazon...they were used as pawns."
I'm afraid that is giving the current administration too much credit. They were simply used. Their very identity and existence was simply the excuse to execute this ecclesial farce.
In reality there is no excuse for this entire charade.
The Church in its present state cannot sustain itself. The postconciliar "church" of the geriatric, homosexualized, Masonic mafia that has been in charge so long will collapse under its own irrelevance.
I can think of one more that should be tossed into the Tiber, White robes and all!!!!!
Talk about white white washed sepulcher, all pretty and enlightened and rotten to the core. I have had it with this pope,
be clear Him not the office or the church, but this man is worse for the faith than the Borjias
What? No comments about “Padre Davide”?
For perspective, this from Pope Benedict:
What do we discover? Perhaps reluctantly we come to acknowledge that there are also scars which mark the surface of our earth: erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world’s mineral and ocean resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption. Some of you come from island nations whose very existence is threatened by rising water levels; others from nations suffering the effects of devastating drought. God’s wondrous creation is sometimes experienced as almost hostile to its stewards, even something dangerous. How can what is “good” appear so threatening? . . .
And we discover that not only the natural but also the social environment – the habitat we fashion for ourselves – has its scars; wounds indicating that something is amiss. Here too, in our personal lives and in our communities, we can encounter a hostility, something dangerous; a poison which threatens to corrode what is good, reshape who we are, and distort the purpose for which we have been created. Examples abound, as you yourselves know. Among the more prevalent are alcohol and drug abuse, and the exaltation of violence and sexual degradation, often presented through television and the internet as entertainment. I ask myself, could anyone standing face to face with people who actually do suffer violence and sexual exploitation “explain” that these tragedies, portrayed in virtual form, are considered merely “entertainment”? . . .
My dear friends, God’s creation is one and it is good. The concerns for non-violence, sustainable development, justice and peace, and care for our environment are of vital importance for humanity. They cannot, however, be understood apart from a profound reflection upon the innate dignity of every human life from conception to natural death: a dignity conferred by God himself and thus inviolable. Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises. Our hearts and minds are yearning for a vision of life where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion. This is the work of the Holy Spirit! This is the hope held out by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is to bear witness to this reality that you were created anew at Baptism and strengthened through the gifts of the Spirit at Confirmation.
Pope Benedict, July 17, 2008
This appeal to shun idols, dear brothers and sisters, is also pertinent today. Has not our modern world created its own idols? Has it not imitated, perhaps inadvertently, the pagans of antiquity, by diverting man from his true end, from the joy of living eternally with God? This is a question that all people, if they are honest with themselves, cannot help but ask. What is important in my life? What is my first priority? The word “idol” comes from the Greek and means “image”, “figure”, “representation”, but also “ghost”, “phantom”, “vain appearance”. An idol is a delusion, for it turns its worshipper away from reality and places him in the kingdom of mere appearances. Now, is this not a temptation in our own day – the only one we can act upon effectively? The temptation to idolize a past that no longer exists, forgetting its shortcomings; the temptation to idolize a future which does not yet exist, in the belief that, by his efforts alone, man can bring about the kingdom of eternal joy on earth! Saint Paul explains to the Colossians that insatiable greed is a form of idolatry (cf. 3:5), and he reminds his disciple Timothy that love of money is the root of all evil. By yielding to it, he explains, “some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs” (1 Tim 6:10). Have not money, the thirst for possessions, for power and even for knowledge, diverted man from his true Destiny, from the truth about himself?
Pope Benedict, September 13, 2008
P.S. Here are the links for sourcing and context:
https://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2008/july/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20080717_barangaroo.html
http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20080913_parigi-esplanade.html
Father, what do we do now? I am very very distressed about all that has been going on. I like everyone else has endured decades of liturgical abuse, the Faith not being properly taught in schools. Liberal nuns, pedophile priests, bishops and cardinals and popes protecting and promoting evil clerics, statues of Luther being brought into the Vatican, popes kissing the feet of apostates and pagans, financial scandals and now the pope bringing pagan idols! It’s to much. I thought the gates of Hell will not prevail. It sure looks Hell has prevailed. If the pope venerates in any way those demon idols in St. Patrick WHAT DO WE DO THEN? This is a serious question. I feel completely and utterly abandoned. I have carried a particular cross (like everyone has) for over 45 years. And now I feel like I wasted my life. What was the point if nothing is a sin, if adulterers can go to communion without giving up their sin why should I have bothered all these years trying to live a good moral life. Why! It’s too much. A pope apologizing for pagan idols being removed from the house of God! It’s too much. The Church does NOT belong to Jorge Bergoglio and the Jesuit order!. Why will no bishop or cardinal even make an attempt to stop this man. Is was lay people that had to remove those filthy idols, it should have been a bishop in broad daylight. Father what do we do. I am doubting my Faith. I don’t know what to do now. I feel like I have been living a lie my whole life.
Anon at 5:47, I believe the reason the Bishops/Cardinals do nothing is that they can't. The Pope, while not above Divine Law, is above Canon Law....it is now a problem as there is no mechanism to get rid of the pope in a situation where the 1st commandment as blatantly violated. (Hard as the Vatican Spinsters try, that's exactly what happened). I suppose that one can pray to be delivered from such nonsense....but at what point does when one being spiritually abused, liturgically abused (and in some cases physically) had enough? At what point does constantly being on defense become an obstacle to the spiritual life? I know for myself in conjunction with my Spiritual Father advised me to go East, and so I did, and I've been at peace, been able to pray the Liturgy,, to Love God, and to love neighbour. I'm a part of a church with real orders, real succession, and real authority and is not schismatic (or sedevacantist). It's a whole mentality/lifestyle change, but it's absolutely worth it.
The Egyptian: The Borgias for all their sins, were Catholic and didn't mess with the Faith. I'll take Alexander VI over the present occupant any day of the week.....I can't say the same about the present occupant of the Bishop of Rome after this fiasco. There is no amount of spin that can justify what just took place....none.
Православный физик said..."There is no amount of spin that can justify what just took place....none."
Just hold on. Mark will be here in a minute.
Bee here:
To Anonymous at October 26, 2019 at 5:47 AM who asked, "Father, what do we do now?"
(I posted this answer on the article Father McD made of the comment, but will put it here too so the person who asked can be sure to see it:)
This time is a testing for you, for all of us. The question is, what is your Faith in, men, or Jesus Christ? Have you built your house (Faith) on rock (the Word of God (Jesus)), or on sand (what men say)? Because here comes the wind, and the torrents...
Men (people), even clerics, are fallible, they will at times falter and sometimes fail you. Jesus Christ (God) is not fallible. He does not falter. He will never fail you.
Men (people), even clerics, can be deceptive, and deliberately mislead you. Jesus Christ (God) will never deceive you. He will never mislead you.
So what do you do now? You do all you can to pass the test, for Satan has obviously determined to sift us all as wheat.
You reiterate your Faith in Jesus Christ. You hold fast to the doctrines and dogmas that are settled, that were settled by the Council of Trent and the Council of Nicea.
You realize the human Church in Rome, and in many places, may be led by apostates. From now on when you hear something they say or see something they do that contradicts what you know the Church has taught in ages past, do not take it in. If it sounds fishy, do not take it in. If it disquiets your spirit, do not take it in.
You pray. And pray. And pray...hard, for God to show you the way.
You consecrate yourself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (by way of the devotion promulgated by St. Louis De Montfort.) You fly to her protection... "Remember O Most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known, that anyone who fled to thy protection...was left unaided."
You double down. You know what the Church teaches. If you don't know you find out by reading old (before 1950) theology books. You avoid any parishes that begin to offer heretical liturgies.
Fr. John Hardon said in a talk once that you can attend Orthodox (even Greek or Russian) liturgies to fulfill your Sunday obligation, even though you cannot receive communion in them.
Never leave Christ. Never leave the Church. Refuse to give up your birthright, your baptismal right.
Say with St. Peter to Jesus, "Even if everyone else abandons You, I will never abandon You." He was tested and failed. Once. After that, when he was tested, he never failed again.
You were born for this time. God foresaw you living in this time. He has already prepared all the graces you need to withstand whatever comes. Turn to Him with Faith.
Reaffirm your Faith in Him. I promise, with all I know is true, He will answer you and help you.
God bless.
Bee
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