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Now if out of joy in beauty But again, not even these are pardonable. <\/span> <\/p>\n AT\u00a0<\/strong>the beginning of the recent Amazon Synod in Rome, a ceremony took place in the Vatican Gardens that stunned many in the Catholic world. Since I’ve already covered this topic in more detail here<\/em><\/a>, I’ll give a brief summary including a few more important facts. <\/p>\n A ceremonial blanket was placed on the ground and various Amazonian artifacts, statues of pregnant naked women, food and other objects were laid upon it. After Pope Francis arrived and took his seat, a mixed group that included indigenous, a friar, and other organizers processed into the garden. Catholic World Report<\/em> described what followed:<\/p>\n Participants sang and held hands while dancing in a circle around the images, in a dance resembling the \u201cpago a la tierra,\u201d a traditional offering to Mother Earth common among indigenous peoples in some parts of South America.<\/strong> \u2014The Catholic World Report<\/em><\/a>, October 4th, 2019<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Then, the group knelt down and bowed prostrate<\/em> to the ground toward the center of the circle. Later on, bowls of dirt (likely from the Amazon) were poured onto the grass. Again, an indigenous woman raised her arms in the air and bowed prostrate to the ground, this time to the pile of earth<\/em>.<\/p>\n A controversy erupted, particularly over the identity of the female statues in the circle that appeared as the center of attention. While one woman is later overheard in the video [It] represented life, fertility, mother earth.<\/strong> \u2014Dr. Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communications, <\/span>vaticannews.va<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Pope Francis himself later referred to the statues as “pachamama.”<\/em><\/p>\n That the Pope, Vatican officials, and REPAM organisers have all identified the statues as depictions of the \u201cMother Earth\u201d or \u201cPachamama\u201d is, in our opinion, strong legitimating grounds for this identification.<\/strong> \u2014Dom Cornelius, Abbey de Sainte-Cyran, “The Pachamama Primer<\/a>“, October 27th, 2019<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n WHO IS PACHAMAMA?<\/p>\n Pachamama is another word for “Mother Earth” or more accurately “Cosmic Mother” (pacha<\/em> meaning universe, world, time and space<\/span>, and mama <\/em>meaning mom). As noted in Part II<\/a>, Mother Earth is making a comeback, including in feminist circles where she has become “an alternative to God the Father, whose image is seen to be linked to a patriarchal conception of male domination of women.”[1]<\/sup><\/a>Jesus Christ, The Bearer of the Water of Life, <\/em>n. 2.3.4.2<\/a><\/span><\/span>
\n[fire, or the wind, or the swift air, or the circle of the stars,
\nor the great water, or the sun and moon] they thought them gods, <\/span>
\nlet them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these; <\/span>
\nfor the original source of beauty fashioned them… <\/span>
\nFor they search busily among his works,
\nbut are distracted by what they see, <\/span>
\nbecause the things seen are fair. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nFor if they so far succeeded in knowledge
\n<\/span>that they could speculate about the world, <\/span>
\nhow did they not more quickly find its Lord? <\/span>
\n(Wisdom 13:1-9)<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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(You can watch the video of the event <\/span>here<\/a>.)<\/span> <\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/pachamomma.jpg\")
saying that the statue is “Our Lady of the Amazon,” three Vatican spokesmen were quick to dismiss that notion.<\/p>\n\n
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