The Pachamama or the Virgin: Which Does the Synod Revere? by Phil Lawler

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture, Oct 17, 2019

Questioned about the Pachamama icon that has become the most visible symbol of the Amazon Synod, Father Giacomo Costa told reporters that it was an image of “an indigenous woman who brings life.” The Synod spokesman added: “Nobody said it was the Virgin Mary.”

I beg to differ. Browsing the internet during the past week, I have seen dozens of people defending the use of this apparently pagan symbol—the Inca goddess of fertility—by saying that it was a representation of the Blessed Mother. The woman who presented the image to Pope Francis said that it was “Our Lady of the Amazon.”

To be fair, there were many different interpretations of this inscrutable image. Peruvian Bishop David Martinez told a Roman news conference that: “we all have our own interpretations… the Virgin Mary, the Mother Earth… wishes to reflect fertility, to women, to life…” Paolo Ruffini, the Vatican’s top spokesman, said that “it is a statue that represents life; that’s it.”

In short the Pachamama image is confusing. In that respect perhaps it is a fitting image for this Synod—and indeed for this pontificate.  ….

Read more at https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/pachamama-or-virgin-which-does-synod-revere/