Update: Judge Kim Cooks has ruled that James' parents will have joint conservatorship over him. Read more by clicking here.
October 21, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — A LifeSite petition calling on Vatican officials to remove the “pagan” statues that have been appearing in prominent places since the eve of the Amazon Synod has already been signed more than 17,000 times since its launch three days ago.
These wood-carved statues of nude, pregnant indigenous women have been stationed in the Synod Hall (right in front of the pope), in St. Peter’s Basilica, and in the Vatican Gardens. In addition, they have been showing up at some nearby churches, like at Santa Maria in Traspontina (which is near to the Vatican).
This is a problem because at least one indigenous leader has identified the original ceremony involving the same statue as “pagan.”
“So far, the response to this petition has been tremendous,” said Scott Schittl, one of LifeSite’s petition campaign coordinators. “Catholic faithful are very annoyed by the seeming indifference by Vatican officials to what appears to be an obvious offense to Almighty God, and a violation of the First Commandment: ‘I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have any strange gods before Me.’”
“For a lot of average Catholics, these statues do not pass ‘the smell test.’ People have been alerted to a lot of other dodgy things being promoted at the Amazon Synod,” Schittl concluded.
When questions were first raised about the inclusion of such a statue in Church ceremonies and buildings, a Dominican panelist at the Holy See Press Office conceded that the statue is open to interpretation, as either the Virgin Mary or Mother Earth.
Later, the Vatican denied that the statue represents the Virgin Mary. But officials still have not confirmed what the statue actually does represent.
The petition states that, by not confirming or denying the meaning of the statue, “it [official inaction on this matter] sows seeds of confusion and syncretism, which is defined as the attempt to amalgamate different religions, cultures, or schools of thought.”
The petition points out that allowing and promoting such things in Church events and buildings means that “the critics of the Amazon Synod were correct when they predicted that the Synod would be a foray by paganism against the divinity of Jesus Christ and His Church.”
It appears that other Catholics, apart from these petition-signers, also believe that such symbols have no place in Catholic churches.
Within the last 24 hours, Catholic men entered Santa Maria in Traspontina (one of the places where these “pagan” statues were placed) and removed the offensive statues, subsequently throwing them into the Tiber River.
CLICK HERE to learn more about, and SIGN, the petition.
CLICK HERE to read BREAKING NEWS about the removal of the offending statues from Santa Maria in Traspontina.