February 12, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – In his new exhortation released today on the Amazon Synod, Pope Francis made statements about “indigenous” symbols and “certain religious practices” that could be interpreted as a defense of the use of the controversial “Pachamama” statues during the synod in Rome last year.
In section 78 of Querida Amazonia, Pope Francis states that people should “not be quick to describe as superstition or paganism certain religious practices that arise spontaneously from the life of peoples.” In section 79, the Pope continues that it is “possible to take up an indigenous symbol in some way, without necessarily considering it as idolatry,” adding that a “myth charged with spiritual meaning can be used to advantage and not always considered a pagan error.”
On October 4, 2019, Pope Francis hosted a pagan ceremony with Pachamama statues in the Vatican Gardens and even blessed one of the statues. At the ceremony, people were bowing down to the ground worshiping the statue. Additionally, the Pope prayed in front of the Pachamama statue at St. Peter’s Cathedral on October 7 and then accompanied it in procession into the synod hall. The Pope confirmed that the statue was “Pachamama” and apologized for other Pachamama statues being thrown into the Tiber river.
In response to the ceremonies in the Vatican Gardens, Bishop Athanasius Schneider called on all Catholics — bishops, priests and laity — to offer acts of reparation, protest and correction for the use of the Pachamama statues, which he called a “new golden calf.” ….
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