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<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Were Amazon Synod participants venerating a statue meant to represent Mary?\u00a0 Or were at least some of them worshipping a statue of a pregnant woman meant to represent \u201clife\u201d or \u201cMother Earth\u201d?\u00a0 And were the defenders of this statue doing so under the belief that this was Mary, or that, on the other hand, the statue was not given any particular sort of veneration but merely one among other symbols of life in the Amazon?\u00a0 Or were they perfectly fine with people who claim the name \u201cCatholic\u201d venerating \u201cMother Earth\u201d?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s kind of frustrating that, in the context of a synod with so many Big Items on the agenda \u2014 in particular, questions about whether plotters and schemers used the synod as a way to build towards married and female priests and the creation of a new concept of \u201csins against the environment\u201d \u2014 we get sidetracked with this question.\u00a0 But at the same time, the vague paragraphs about a special \u201crite\u201d for the Amazon make no sense to me and it\u2019s not at all clear if this means a \u201cspecial canon law structure that permits married priests uniquely (for the time being) there\u201d or if it\u2019s every bit as much about \u201cliturgy and rituals and maybe even doctrine that wouldn\u2019t be recognized as Catholic anywhere else are OK there.\u201d<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s a link that has been passed around<\/a> without (that I can find) an original source or context:\u00a0 a document that purports to be the \u201cprogram\u201d for the synod, with 27 pages of Italian text on the issues in the Amazon and profiles of missionaries there.\u00a0 And there are prayers:\u00a0 one begins \u201cSignore Dio, Uno e Trino,\u201d that is, Lord God, one and triune\u201d (p. 11).\u00a0 The second so-called \u201cprayer\u201d (p. 27) is really a poem attributed to Gandhi<\/a>, \u201cA Gift,\u201d which reads in part:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Take a smile,<\/p>\n give it those who have never had one.<\/p>\n Take a sunbeam, Take goodness, Discover love, As you might guess, this is not my thing.\u00a0 But what\u2019s more, this is not a prayer.<\/p>\n (Incidentally, I don\u2019t read Italian except insofar as there are sufficient numbers of cognates with other Romance languages or English, but \u2013 well, the magic of Google Translate does the job.)<\/p>\n And the third prayer?\u00a0 It reads as follows (in Italian first, then Google Translate\u2019s version for English).<\/p>\n Pachamama di questi luoghi,<\/p>\n bevi e mangia a volont\u00e0 questa offerta,<\/p>\n affinch\u00e9 sia fruttuosa questa terra.<\/p>\n Pachamama, buona madre<\/p>\n Sii propizia!\u00a0 Sii propizia!<\/p>\n Fa\u2019 che i buoi camminino bene,<\/p>\n e che non si stanchino.<\/p>\n Fa\u2019 che la semente spunti bene,<\/p>\n che non le succeda nulla di male,<\/p>\n che il gelo non la distrugga,<\/p>\n che produca buoni alimenti.<\/p>\n A te lo chiediamo:<\/p>\n donaci tutto.<\/p>\n Sii propizia! Sii propozia!<\/p>\n (Preghiera alla Madre Terra dei popoli Inca)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Pachamama of these places,<\/p>\n drink and eat this offering at will,<\/p>\n so that this land may be fruitful.<\/p>\n Pachamama, good mother<\/p>\n Be propitious! Be propitious!<\/p>\n Let the oxen walk well,<\/p>\n and let them not get tired.<\/p>\n Let the seeds come out well,<\/p>\n that nothing bad happens to her,<\/p>\n that the frost does not destroy it,<\/p>\n that produces good food.<\/p>\n We ask you:<\/p>\n give us everything.<\/p>\n Be propitious! Be proud!<\/p>\n (Prayer to the Mother Earth of the Inca peoples)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So what on earth did the authors of this brochure have in mind in including this prayer?<\/p>\n Is this meant merely to share some insight into the cultural heritage of the Amazonians (even though the Incans had nothing to do with the Amazon)?\u00a0 I\u2019ll be honest \u2013 the text at the link isn\u2019t copy-able so to see a translation requires manual typing rather than just copy\/paste; to the extent that I can derive meaning from cognates and pictures, there is no context that would explain this.\u00a0 The formatting, identical to the \u201creal\u201d prayer and the Gandhi poem, suggest that this is meant as a \u201creal\u201d pray-able text which the reader is meant to find meaningful.<\/p>\n Separately, here\u2019s an exchange on twitter earlier today:<\/p>\n Nobody bowed down to idolatrous statues. They were Amazonian Catholics praying to Mother Earth. The statuettes, the canoe, etc. were there because they are symbols of their culture. Call me a liar again, and you\u2019re blocked.<\/p>\n \u2014 Austen Ivereigh (@austeni) October 27, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nlet it fly to where the night reigns. . . .<\/p>\n
\nand gift it to those who don\u2019t know how to give.<\/p>\n
\nand transmit it to the world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n