Print friendly
Ultra-conservative Catholics who stole and dumped “pagan”statues in Rome’s Tiber River and published videos of the theft on social media are guilty of fomenting hate.
Vatican editorial director Andrea Tornielli says the wooden figures of nude pregnant women were on display along with other Amazon artifacts at a church near the Vatican.
Although some people characterized the statues as the Blessed Virgin Mary, others say they are images of Pachamama, who is an indigenous religious figure.
The Vatican says the figures represent an indigenous traditional symbol of life.
The controversial figures have been present at several events connected to the Vatican’s Amazon synod, including its opening ceremony.
Their inclusion at the ceremony outraged ultra-conservatives.
They say they stole the statues and threw them away “for only one reason:
“Our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ, his blessed Mother, and everybody who follows Christ, are being attacked by members of our own Church. We do not accept this! We do no longer stay silent! We start to act NOW!” [sic]
“Because we love humanity, we can not accept that people of a certain region should not get baptised and therefore are being denied entrance into heaven”.
“It is our duty to follow the words of God like our holy Mother did. There is no second way of salvation. Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat!”
Among those who have commented publicly about the thefts was Fr. Giacomo Costa, a communications official for the Amazon synod.
He explained the carved figure of the pregnant woman represents life in the Amazon in the same way a “glass of water” or “parrots” represent life in the region.
The statues had been kept in several side chapels at the Church of St. Mary in Traspontina where prayer services connected to the synod have been held daily since the gathering began in early October.
One was included in a tree-planting ceremony in the Vatican at the beginning of this month.
It has also been present during various synod events, under the “Casa Comun” (Common Home) initiative.
Source
Related Posts:
News category: World.
