{"id":49554,"date":"2019-10-14T09:37:30","date_gmt":"2019-10-14T14:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=49554"},"modified":"2019-10-20T13:49:07","modified_gmt":"2019-10-20T18:49:07","slug":"paganism-at-the-vatican","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/14\/paganism-at-the-vatican\/","title":{"rendered":"Paganism at the Vatican?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Pedro Gabriel<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pray Tell is happy to make the <\/em>Where Peter Is<\/a> more widely known, and to publish this piece <\/a>with their and the author’s permission. Gabriel addresses the controversy about allegedly pagan elements and unchristian religious syncretism in prayer services at the Vatican in conjunction with the Amazon Synod now taking place in Rome.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the publication\nof my article about the alleged pagan ritual hosted at the Vatican Gardens<\/a>,\nnew facts have emerged. This was bound to happen, as I myself admitted and\nwished for in the conclusion of the article. After all, there was still much\nthat was not known about the ceremony at the time. This is why I was very\ncautious in drawing any conclusions from it. The only claims that I presented\nas solid were: 1) the alleged \u201cphallic man\u201d was not phallic at all and 2) one\nof the images of a seemingly naked pregnant woman represented Our Lady of the\nAmazon. The latter was mainly grounded on the words of the native woman who\npresented the image to the Pope: she said it was \u201cOur Lady of the Amazon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I again refer you to the\nvideo of the whole ceremony here<\/a>. The part\nwhere she calls it \u201cOur Lady of the Amazon\u201d can be heard at the 13:20 mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since\nthen, and as expected, those who hold to what I call the \u201chermeneutic of\nsuspicion\u201d have doubled down instead of recanting. They have found ways to try\nto disprove that the figure was indeed Our Lady of the Amazon, so that the\nnarrative of the pagan ritual could still hold and they would have yet another\naccusation to hurl at the Holy Father. I will try to address these apparent\ncounter-arguments and present some new information that strengthens my conviction\nthat this is indeed Our Lady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cOur Lady of the Amazon\u201d\ntitle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the reflexive\nresponses from the critics was that there is no such thing as \u201cOur Lady of the\nAmazon.\u201d Of course, asserting such a definitive negative claim in a Church with\na universal reach and a wide diversity of Marian expressions is always\nproblematic. A simple Google search shows that there is at least one chapel called Our Lady of the Amazon (\u201cNossa Senhora da\nAmaz\u00f4nia\u201d) in a missionary area in Manaus, Brazil<\/a>. It is not\nimplausible that there may be other expressions of this devotion in the\nPan-Amazonian Area that, because of their remoteness, have no expression\nonline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nreason why I bring this up is because I noted a pattern in the critics who\npresent these charges. First, the critic will make the outlandish claim that\nthere is no such thing as Our Lady of the Amazon. When proven wrong, the critic\nwill browse the website of that parish and produce this picture, which appears\nin the aforementioned chapel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\ncritic will point out that this representation of Our Lady of the Amazon\ndisplays the Virgin as a native woman, as does the controversial figure.\nHowever, the critic will point out that the Virgin is fully clothed in the\n\u201cofficial\u201d version. Therefore, according to the critic, the statue in the\nVatican Gardens, where the woman is depicted naked or semi-naked, is not Our\nLady of the Amazon, but a fertility goddess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\ncritical interpretation fails to take into account that manifestations of\npopular piety are not centrally designed, but emerge from the faithful on the\nground. This means that they can be (and often are) heterogeneous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The clothed image of Our\nLady of the Amazon in the Manaus chapel was designed in 2011, in a contest\napproved by the Vatican. Unfortunately, it was not designed by a native\nperson. You can see the 2011 news article here<\/a> (in Portuguese).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nnews article explains that the creator of this image did indeed do heavy\nresearch to make it as indigenous-like as possible. Still, it was an image of\nOur Lady designed to appear as a native Amazonian woman, but created by a non-indigenous\nartist. The designer was explicit in stating that, even though she tried to\npresent the Virgin as an indigenous woman, she took care to clothe her, even\nintroducing a non-Amazonian white veil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nthis context, it is not strange that an image of Our Lady of the Amazon,\ncreated by the Amazonian people themselves, was bound to emerge. Nor is it\nunexpected that this image would represent the Virgin as indigenous in the\nnatives\u2019 own terms. Doing so was also bound to challenge western ideas of how Mary\nshould be represented, especially since the indigenous people of the Amazon\nhave a different cultural view of nakedness which does not necessarily entail\nconcupiscence or immodesty on their part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The woman presiding over\nthe Vatican Garden ritual referred to the statue as \u201cOur Lady of the Amazon.\u201d\nEven if this representation was created specifically for the purpose of this\nSynod, it was still produced to represent Our Lady of the Amazon. Therefore, it\nis Our Lady of the Amazon. Since the previous claim, before the goal post was\nmoved, was that there was no such title for the Blessed Virgin, and since we\nalready have some evidence that the title Our Lady of the Amazon preceded this\nritual, and was even formally approved by the Vatican in 2011<\/a>, then this\nargument does not hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(As a sidenote, it is\ninteresting that the 2011 clothed Our Lady of the Amazon is placed in a\ncanoe-shaped chapel, representing this aspect of the indigenous people culture.\nTherefore, there are some elements that are common to both depictions of Our\nLady of the Amazon)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer to Ivereigh<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On October 7th, the English\njournalist and papal biographer Austen Ivereigh asked Bishop David Guinea for\nclarification on the identity of the mysterious image. The bishop\u2019s answer can be heard<\/a> here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nwas immediately seized upon by papal critics to validate their spin. The\nVatican had confirmed \u2013 they would say \u2013 that it was not the Virgin Mary after\nall. This is official confirmation that it was a pagan ritual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some problems\nwith this reasoning. First (assuming the English translation in real time is\neven accurate), the bishop says that he thinks there is no need to make a\nconnection with the Virgin Mary or with a pagan element.<\/strong> How the critics have\njumped from this to the conclusion that the Mary interpretation had been\nrefuted, while the pagan interpretation still stood, just goes to show their\npartiality. Pachamama is as much refuted by these words as Mary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, the bishop is not\ntalking in his official capacity as \u201cThe Vatican\u201d here. Granted, he is one of\nthe Secretaries of the Synod, but this was a Q&A session that was not even\nrelated to this issue before Ivereigh brought it up. It was not an official\nclarification on this topic. To my knowledge, no official organ of the Vatican\nreleased any official statement on the Vatican Gardens ritual after it was\ncarried out. Also, as the original story from Catholic News Agency makes clear<\/a>,\nthe Vatican was not involved in the organization of the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally,\nand more importantly, it is obvious that the bishop did not know for certain\nwhat was going on. He says that this is \u201chis interpretation,\u201d and that the\nimage \u201cprobably\u201d is a representation of life, earth, etc. It is not a\ndefinitive take, nor was it informed by the input of those involved in the\nceremony. It is just his guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bishop\nGuinea\u2019s experience and knowledge on the Amazonian people is certainly\nrespectable, given his background. However, his opinions do not trump the words\nof the native woman who presided over the ritual. She was there, she presided\nover it, she probably was involved in organizing it, she knows her own culture.\nShe presents the image as \u201cOur Lady of the Amazon.\u201d No external element can\ntell her that she means something different than what she means it to be. No\none can tell her: \u201cyou don\u2019t know what that statue means, here is what it\nactually means.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other criticism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nwere other voices trying to bypass the native woman\u2019s interpretation of her own\nritual, in order to advance their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One such person was a\ncertain Brother Alexis Bugnolo, who presents himself as a having a B.A. in\nanthropology. In a text released online, he a<\/a>ffirmed that the image was an idol of Pachamama, and that it received\nveneration of latria<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\ndoes not explain how he arrived at this conclusion, nor does he cite any\nreference or evidence that may validate his claims. He simply flaunts his\ncredentials and then goes on to gratuitously assert his conclusions. This is\nnot a scholarly way to do things. Especially since we can plainly see that this\nis a biased source, and probably not reliable, since most of his article is\nspent not on proving that this image is Pachamama, but in explaining that, if\nhe was a bishop, he would declare the Pope excommunicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of\ncourse, no anthropologist, no matter how knowledgeable or scholarly, can\npretend to lecture the cultures that he studies on what their rituals and\npractices actually mean. In other words, if the native woman who presided over\nthe ritual says that the statue is Our Lady, then her interpretation is more authoritative\nthan that of any academic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LifeSiteNews<\/em>, on their end, used a\ndifferent type of sleight of hand. They interviewed an actual tribal leader,\nJonas Marcolino Macuxi, who asserted that the ritual was pagan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LifeSiteNews<\/em>, of course, is not a\nreliable source. They have been instrumental in generating the very same \u201chermeneutic\nof suspicion\u201d mentality that I warned against in my previous article. They are\nconstantly spinning the acts and words of the Pope in an unfavorable way. To\nshowcase their modus operandi<\/em> (and how\ndesperate they are to find excuses to criticize the Pope), it suffices to\nlink to this article of theirs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is impossible to ignore\nthe fact that this tribal leader was interviewed in the context of a conference\nsponsored by Tradition, Family and Property, a right-wing and traditionalist organization that has been at the\nforefront of the resistance to the Synod in the Amazon<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is hardly surprising that Jonas describes the natives in this ceremony as being manipulated by left-wing Liberation Theology clerics, or that he would validate the narrative that\u00a0LifeSiteNews<\/em>\u00a0wanted to promote. Still, there are more extremely important facts that cannot be ignored. First of all, this tribal leader is not Catholic, but evangelical. It would be interesting to ask him whether he views any kind of veneration to Our Lady (even uncontroversial Catholic expressions like Our Lady of Fatima) as idolatry. Secondly, contrary to what the translator in the video says, the leader does not say that the ritual was \u201cpagan.\u201d He never uses that expression. He may imply it, by saying that it is \u201cprimitive\u201d and that certain elements (like using smoke to ward off spirits) are not practiced by his tribe anymore and are reminiscent of shamans of old. Nevertheless, expressions such as, \u201cit\u2019s 100% pagan,\u201d are added by the translator, not uttered by the leader. Jonas\u2019s main concern seems to be with the smoking objects, not with the image of Our Lady. Maybe as an evangelical, he may not believe there is any Christian way to use those ancient objects, but Catholics do have such things as incense-burners. I do not view those objects as unable to have a Christian ceremonial purpose once the natives convert to Catholicism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the\nend, nothing in this video disproves that the image was Our Lady of the Amazon.\nAlso, Jonas\u2019s concerns are based on similarities with ancient rituals, but he\ncannot assert with certainty that that was the intent of those practicing the\nritual in the Vatican Gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The words of the native woman<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While\nthese sources were spinning the narrative and being uncritically accepted by\nthose who view what\u2019s happening in the Church today through the lens of the\nhermeneutic of suspicion, I was receiving more and more confirmation that the\nimage was indeed Our Lady of the Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first happened during a\nTwitter exchange with another Portuguese-speaking source who, at the time, was advancing\nvery forcefully the notion that this was a pagan ceremony<\/a>. After a\ndiscussion with me, he conceded that the native woman really p<\/a>resented the statue to the Pope as \u201cOur Lady of the Amazon.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Though\nI admire Catholic Sat\u2019s intellectual honesty, I do not agree with his\ntranslation in its entirety. First, it is necessary to highlight that the woman\nis not speaking in Portuguese, but in Spanish. This, of course, does not change\nanything, since the similarities between the two languages makes it possible\nfor most Portuguese-speaking people to intuitively understand Spanish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, even so, there are\nsome parts that are muffled by the clicks of the cameras. I cannot personally\nconfirm that the other person said \u201cAv\u00e9 Maria,<\/em>\u201d or that\nthe woman later said, \u201cgive it to the Pope, to the Church<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, I do not\nthink the woman says, \u201cthe bride of the Church<\/em>\u201d (\u201cnoiva da Igreja<\/em>\u201d in Portuguese or \u201cnovia de la Iglesia<\/em>\u201d in Spanish). It simply does not\nmatch the syllables and vowels she is pronouncing. The only thing that is clear\nis that she said \u201c\u2026 of the Church<\/em>\u201d\n(\u201c\u2026 de la Iglesia<\/em>\u201c).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I listened to the clip\nseveral times, trying to make sense of the inaudible part. I tried to match it\nwith the most probable words: queen (\u201creina<\/em>\u201c), patroness\n(\u201cpatrona<\/em>\u201c), mother (\u201cmadre<\/em>\u201c)\u2026 none seems\nto be correct. It could be \u201cpray for the Church<\/em>\u201d\n(\u201cruega por la Iglesia<\/em>\u201c), but unfortunately, we already\nestablished that she says \u201c\u2026 of the Church<\/em>\u201d\n(\u201c\u2026 de la Iglesia<\/em>\u201c) and not \u201c\u2026 for the Church<\/em>\u201d (\u201c\u2026 por la Iglesia<\/em>\u201c).\nThe phrase, \u201cpray of the Church,<\/em>\u201d is clumsy wording.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After listening to it many\ntimes, the translation that seems more plausible (and which was confirmed by a\nSpanish-speaking friend) is that she says \u201cNuestra Se\u00f1ora de la Amazonia,\ncon el huevo de la Iglesia.<\/em>\u201d Which translates as \u201cOur Lady of the Amazon, with the egg of the Church<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this translation\nis provisory. Maybe some other Spanish-speaking person may reach a more\naccurate wording. One thing, though, is certain: the woman presented the statue\nto the Pope as \u201cOur Lady of the Amazon, [inaudible] of the\nChurch<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other confirmation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While\nthe debate was raging, the figure at the center of the controversy did not sit\nquietly. In Oct 7th, it was once again sighted, this time inside St. Peter\u2019s\nBasilica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If inserting a pagan ritual into an otherwise Christian ceremony was already strange, then introducing a pagan idol in the Basilica would be even stranger. Of course, for the hermeneuts of suspicion, it just reinforced their suspicions on how bad things are. For a reasonable person, this just shows how much more plausible it that the image represents Our Lady and is not a pagan idol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also seems that the figure is now in the Church of Santa Maria in Transpontina. This is consistent with what Christopher Lamb had already reported in a tweet that I noted as strengthening the evidence in favor of this being Our Lady of the Amazon<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this link, it is possible to see a video of a service being held in the\nChurch of Santa Maria in Transpontina<\/a> (It is worth noting that\nI am not the maker of this video, nor did I edit it): At the 28 second mark, it\nis possible to see the image. At the 49 second mark, we see many people holding\nhands around the image and praying Av\u00e9 Maria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also can see that, like\nin the ceremony in the Vatican Gardens, this service is held in a profoundly\nChristian context, not pagan. At the 33 second mark, we see a young girl\nsitting in the same canoe where Our Lady was before. Besides her, a middle-aged\nwoman (who is obviously conducting the activity) asks \u201cQuem quer se arriscar agora?<\/em>\u201d (\u201cWho wants to take the chance now?<\/em>\u201c). Later, at the 37\nsecond mark, the girl is lifted up with the canoe, while the middle-aged woman\nsays: \u201cOlhe gente, Jesus est\u00e1 chamando. Est\u00e1 chamando forte. Agora h\u00e1\nmuita gente escutando o chamado de Jesus<\/em>\u201d (\u201cLook guys, Jesus is calling. He is calling very strongly. Now,\nmany people will hear the calling of Jesus<\/em>\u201c). It is a Christian\nactivity, probably related to God\u2019s calling. The young woman answers to Jesus\u2019\ncall and sits in the same canoe where the image of Our Lady was before (Our\nLady being the model of everyone who answers the call of God.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, on October 10th,\nreporter Melissa Blutz, correspondent of Rome Reports, did what I suggested in\nmy previous piece. She interviewed one of the organizers of the Vatican Garden\nceremony: <\/a>Fr. Carrasco Rojas, a missionary priest for\nindigenous people in Peru. He said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey carved in wood an image of a Blessed Mother, who is pregnant. She is the Virgin, and we have called her Our Lady of the Amazon. She represents the Amazon, because what is the Amazon? The Amazon is a woman, she is female, she has a female face. Why? Because the earth is a mother, the earth gives life. So that is the Amazon.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Please note, that even if\nthe figure represents<\/em> the Amazon,\nit is<\/em> the Virgin, the\nBlessed Mother. This is consistent with the original Spanish, where the Father\nuses the term in an unequivocal way, showing that it is not just any virgin,\nbut the Virgin. Anyway, it is presented once again as Our Lady of the Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One\nweek after the controversy, people are still scrapping for ways to try to\nportray the image as pagan. This should have all died as soon as it was\nestablished that the native woman who presented the statue to the Holy Father\nsaid it was Our Lady of the Amazon. She should know. However, this answer would\nnot be consistent with the narrative set up by the hermeneuts of suspicion.\nThey continue to cling to the opinions of other people: bishops,\nanthropologists, or tribal leaders at conferences held by right-wing\norganizations. They will not rest until they get the answer they want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\nthe closer we get to the actual sources, the clearer it becomes that the people\ninvolved in the Vatican Gardens ceremony view the image as Our Lady. Sure, it\ncarries additional associated symbolic meanings (the Amazon, femininity,\nmotherhood), but we cannot exclude the Marian meaning of the image, nor can we\ndeny that it is the meaning that is most consistently associated with it. We\ncertainly cannot claim that the image is Pachamama, when that name has not been\nuttered by them, even once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nfact that so many people cover their ears and refuse to to hear what the actual\norganizers of the event have to say about the event that they organized is\ntelling. The fact that many people refuse to believe the indigenous woman who\npresented the image to the pope as Our Lady of the Amazon\u2013preferring instead\nideologically-driven alternative explanations from other people who did not\ncontribute to the ritual in any way\u2013shows just how important and needed this\nSynod is. As Francis has said many times, one of the main purposes of the Synod\nis to listen to the Amazonian people. Ideologues are not listening to them, so\nself-assured they are that they are accurately grasping everything that is\nhappening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nindigenous people do not need to be told that their ritual was pagan, when they\nclearly do not view it as such. Nor would it be plausible to assume that they\nwere invited to perform a pagan ritual before the Pope in the middle of an\notherwise Christian ceremony, without so much as an explanation of what they\nwere doing. They view themselves as Christians. We should believe them. And we\nshould believe them when they tell us about their culture and rituals. They\ndon\u2019t need outsiders with absolutely no knowledge of their culture to tell them\nthat the image is \u201cclearly pagan.\u201d If they say it\u2019s Our Lady of the Amazon,\nit\u2019s Our Lady of the Amazon. Period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately,\nat this moment, opinions are already crystalized and there is little that we can\ndo about it. Those who, against all evidence, continue to believe that this was\na pagan ritual, will continue to believe so, and will find more new ways to\njustify their preconceived notion. Because it\u2019s not about the truth of the\nfacts, it\u2019s about having another reason to criticize Pope Francis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even\nif there was a shred of doubt, we should use the most charitable\ninterpretation. In the absence of concrete proof that there is something wrong\nwith what was performed in the Vatican Gardens, we should assume that it was a\nChristian ceremony, done with the accompaniment of the Church, and with no\nelements that are incompatible with the Catholic faith. Shouting \u201cit\u2019s clearly\npagan\u201d or \u201cit\u2019s clearly syncretic,\u201d without any proof, simply does not cut it.\nIt may be very convenient for a certain worldview, but in the end, it is not\nright. In accusing them of paganism, they are potentially (and most likely)\nbearing false witness against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even\nmore gravely, it is using these indigenous people as props in a Culture War.\nThey should not be viewed as such, for they are not props: they are people,\nendowed by their Creator with human dignity. They are brothers and sisters in\nChrist and deserve our respect. And respect starts with listening. Pope Francis\nunderstands this. Let us follow on his footsteps and continue praying and\nworking for the successful conclusion of this much-needed Synod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our\nLady of the Amazon, pray for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Featured picture credits:\nChristopher Lamb]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/em>\"\"Pedro Gabriel, MD, is a Catholic layman and physician, born and residing in Portugal. He is a medical oncologist, currently employed in a Portuguese public hospital. A published writer of Catholic novels with a Tolkienite flavor, he is also a parish reader and a former catechist. He seeks to better understand the relationship of God and humanity by putting the lens on the frailty of the human condition, be it physical or spiritual. He also wishes to provide a fresh perspective of current church and world affairs from the point of view of a small western European country, highly secularized but also highly Catholic by tradition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our Lady of the Amazon, pray for us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":49555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3116,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-new-ws","category-inculturation"],"yoast_head":"\nPaganism at the Vatican? - Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/14\/paganism-at-the-vatican\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paganism at the Vatican? 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