[UPDATED:] Pachamama’s Revenge: Francis says controversial statues will be used at Synod Closing in St. Peter’s Basilica

Pachamama’s revenge…

Francis says controversial statues have been recovered, will be used at Synod Closing in St. Peter’s Basilica [UPDATED]

[UPDATE 26-OCT-2019 00:03 UTC: Vatican Media releases Francis’ statement — find full text and links with more coverage and updated details at end of post]

Breaking news from the Rorate Caeli blog, everyone. The following was just posted on the popular recognize-and-resist blog, which, despite its faulty theological position, is nevertheless highly reliable in terms of reporting news:

At the end of Synod works this Friday, Francis spoke on the pagan idols that were being displayed at various Synod events and permanently at various altars at the church of Santa Maria in Traspontina, near the Vatican.

Francis first asked “forgiveness” to those who were offended by the action of those who removed the pagan idols from the church and threw them in the Tiber.

He them assured those present that there had not been “idolatry” in the worship and display of the pagan idols, that they had been recovered, and were now under the care of the police. He also said the pagan idols will be brought to Saint Peter’s  basilicae for the closing ceremony of the Synod, this Sunday.

(Various sources, incl. I-Media)

(“Francis Defiant in Defense of Pagan Idols: Will Bring Out Pagan Idols for Worship at Saint Peter’s”, Rorate Caeli, Oct. 25, 2019)

The statues in question, of course, are the wooden depictions of a naked pregnant woman. People who are not yet familiar with what has transpired should consult the following links (with due caution, as the statues are explicitly immodest):

• Golden Calf 2.0: Idolatrous Earth Goddess Worship Ceremony in Vatican Gardens
• Vatican Spokesman: Naked Amazonian Woman Figure is NOT Virgin Mary
• Pachamama Idols thrown into Tiber River
• Welcome to the Jungle: Amazon Synod Comprehensive Coverage

Meanwhile, the false conservative “Cardinal” Gerhard Ludwig Muller has said during a televised interview with Raymond Arroyo that the error was to bring these controversial statues into the churches to begin with, not removing them.

Here is a video of the full interview:

Thus, it is evident that Francis is defiant, or pertinacious. Of course he denied that any idolatry took place — what else was he going to say?

Yet, the facts speak for themselves.

[UPDATE:]

The Vatican has now released a statement from Francis on the matter, with the following preface: “The Holy Father spoke off-the-cuff following the liturgical prayer that opened the afternoon session of the 15th General Congregation of the Synod for the Amazon.” This is the full text of the statement:

Good afternoon. I want to say a word about the statues of the pachamama that were taken from the church of the Transpontina – which were there without idolatrous intentions – and were thrown into the Tiber.

First of all, this happened in Rome, and, as Bishop of the Diocese, I ask pardon of the persons who were offended by this act.

Then, I want to communicate to you that the statues which created such attention in the media, were retrieved from the Tiber. The statues were not damaged.

The Commander of the Carabinieri desires that you should be informed of this recovery before the news is made public. At the moment, the news is confidential, and the statues are being kept in the Italian Carabinieri Commander’s office.

The Commander of the Carabinieri has expressed his desire to follow up on any indications that you would like to give concerning the manner of publication of the news, and any other initiative you may want to take in this regard: for example, the Commander said, “the exhibition of the statues during the Holy Mass for the closing of the Synod”. We’ll see.

I have delegated the Secretary of State to respond to this.

This is a bit of good news. Thank you.

(Source: Vatican Media)

Some links to news coverage of this, including commentary:

• Pope asks forgiveness for theft of Amazon statues
• Pope calls statues ‘Pachamamas’ and apologizes for their removal from church
• Pope Francis apologizes that Amazon synod ‘Pachamama’ was thrown into Tiber River
• Video showing Pachamama adoration in Roman church
• Pope Francis apologizes that Amazon synod ‘Pachamama’ was thrown into Tiber River
• Pope apologizes for theft of Pachamama, says she could be back Sunday
• Pope Refers to Disputed Wooden Statues as “Pachamama” in Official Remarks

One must ask whether Bergoglio is desperately trying to formalize a schism within the Vatican II religion. It is certainly not evident what he should be doing differently if he were.

Image source: youtube.com (screenshot)
License: fair use