A statistical analysis of the evolution of the clerical and lay populations of the Church since Vatican II Introduction While the stated main topic of the Amazon Synod is to address the shortage of priests in the Amazon region, it is clear from the Instrumentum Laboris, that unrelated matters are being introduced. These topics such as
Sometimes you hear and learn things while napping. In the relaxed ambiance of a resort, imagine a tourist enjoying a full-month vacation stretching out in a comfortable easy chair where he closes his eyes for a nap. He gently lets his memory wander in search of comforting memories that will be enticing to sleep. People’s
The work of archaeologists in Peru was reported at the end of September without any direct connection with the Amazon Synod. It was a research activity that has particular relevance in view of the recent, so pervasive presence of Pachamama portrayals. The Pachamama, which literally means “World Mother,” rather than “Mother Earth,” was a deity
NEWS ANALYSIS: A set of ideological presuppositions, derived from the political left and also rooted in some strands of liberation theology, informed both the synodal discussions and the synod’s final document. The Pan-Amazonian synod that took place last month highlighted an array of sociopolitical and environmental concerns affecting both the indigenous people of the region
Bishop Athanasius Schneider, the auxiliary bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan, praised as an “act of true charity” a statement by over 100 priests and lay scholars who called on Pope Francis to repent for the idolatry of Pachamama that took place during the Amazon Synod. In a new interview with the German Catholic newspaper Die Tagespost,
Bishop Robert Mutsaerts, auxiliary bishop of ’s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, has joined the signatories of the “Protest against Pope Francis’ sacrilegious acts” whose statement protesting the pagan worship in the Vatican went online on November 12. He is the second bishop to have signed the statement since Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò joined the original signatories
Millions of Catholics around the world were outraged when participants of the Pan Amazon Synod in Rome solemnly carried a nude fertility idol from Peru called a “Pachamama” in a procession in Saint Peter’s Basilica. In the inaugural ceremony in the Vatican Gardens, Pope Francis cheerfully received and blessed the idol. Later on during the
I have been asking myself this question for some years now: How have we come to this situation? I am referring to the situation we see today in this church 2.0, as I called it in a previous article, not to mention what we see happening in civil society. Watching those who remain silent, almost
Cardinal Raymond Burke, one of the Church’s most outspoken defenders of perennial Catholic teaching, suggested that Pope Francis could be leading a “schism” if he were to put his “stamp” of approval on the Amazon Synod’s controversial working document that has been criticized by top-ranking prelates, including Burke, as constituting apostasy, heresy, and “false teaching”.
Those who take the trouble of monitoring the Amazon Synod briefings end up with mixed feelings. All statements deal with “going out,” “openness,” “recognition,” “integral ecology,” etc. However, listening to some of the Synod Fathers, it seems that such expressions do not go beyond secondary concessions on liturgy and catechesis. Those proposing this “moderate” vision