Idols at the Amazon Synod
“My House Will Be Called a House of Prayer.”
Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out with a whip all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. And He declared to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’” (Matthew 21:12).
In October of 2019, at the Amazon Synod, the house of prayer of Santa Maria, a Catholic church in Rome, was violated by the placement in it of several statues of an Amazonian idol, Pachamama (Mother Earth). In the spirit of Jesus driving buyers and sellers out of the temple, two young men removed the idols from the church, took them to the Tiber River and, as seen around the world, threw them in.
The idols show a naked woman in late term pregnancy. Idolaters turn to her for fertility and good fortune, instead of turning to the one true God and trusting in His goodness and providence. The Pachamama is an object of veneration, a goddess to which some Bolivians sacrifice llamas, especially their fetuses. It is an earth deity worshiped by some Peruvians, rooted in pagan Incan beliefs and practices, including human sacrifice. The idols were placed in the Catholic church as part of the Amazon Synod.
Alexander Tschugguel and another young man removed the idols. Alexander is a young Austrian Catholic who said that he did not want the Catholic Church to allow the worship of idols. He founded the St. Boniface Institute in order to promote the Catholic faith and culture through the voices of young Catholics who want to stand up for the truth in public places and be heard.
Alexander named his Institute in honor of St. Boniface who was an eighth century missionary in Germany where the pagans idolized “sacred” trees. As the pagans looked on and cursed him, Boniface strode up to the tree of Donar, that honored the false god Thor, and struck it with an ax. The huge tree miraculously fell and shattered into pieces. At the sight of this extraordinary spectacle, pagans stopped their cursing and, on the contrary, began to believe and bless the true God. Later, St. Boniface used the pieces of the tree to build a church on the spot in honor of St. Peter.
Alexander and his friend simply followed the good example of St. Boniface and dishonored false gods.
“I Am the Lord Your God, You Shall Have No False Gods Before Me.”
God’s first commandment is, “I am the Lord your God, you shall have no false gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3). “You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them”. (Exodus 20:4-5).
Before the idols were placed in the Santa Maria church, they were exhibited as part of a pagan ritual before the very eyes of Pope Francis. As he looked on, an Amazonian woman chanted to the idols. I saw a video clip of several people who carried the statues in procession to Pope Francis who made the Sign of the Cross over them. After that they were placed in the church.
Although Vatican spokespersons denied that the statues were Pachamama, Pope Francis himself called them by that very name. Also, as Bishop of Rome he asked “pardon of the people who were offended by this act”, as if Alexander and his friend had done something wrong. However, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, formerly the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who was removed as its head by Pope Francis without explanation, called the statues “idols.”
Pagan Rituals Denounced
On the EWTN October 24, 2019 show The World Over, Cardinal Müller said that “to bring the idols into the church was a grave sin, was a crime against the divine law. The great mistake was to bring the idols into the church, not to put them out, because according to the Law of God Himself – the First Commandment – idolism [idolatry] is a grave sin and not to mix them with the Christian liturgy. To throw it out, can be against human law, but to bring the idols into the Church was a grave sin, a crime against the Divine Law.”
Bishop José Luis Azcona of Marajó in the Amazon region confirmed that Pachamama is a pagan goddess and denounced the rituals in the Vatican. In his homily on October 16, 2019 in Brazil, he said, “In those rituals there is the devil, there is magic. The invocation of the statues in front of which even some religious have bowed in the Vatican (and I will not mention the religious order to which they belong) is the invocation of the mythical power of Mother Earth, to which they are asking blessings upon humanity or offering gestures of gratitude. These are scandalous demonic sacrileges, especially for the little ones who can’t discern.”
The statements and actions of Pope Francis set a bad example and are scandalous to faithful Catholics. Because of this scandal, many more fundamental Protestants may now believe that Catholics are really and truly idolaters, just like they’ve always said. They can proselytize Amazonians to support their charges and drive them away from the Catholic Church. Moreover, for Pope Francis to imply that the removal of the idols by Alexander and his friend was wrong, is analogous to saying that Jesus was wrong to overturn other people’s tables in the temple without their permission.
See Alexander’s YouTube video testimony here.
Let us join Bishop Athanasius Schneider who encourages all Catholics to offer prayers and reparation for “the abomination of the veneration of wooden idols perpetrated in Rome during the Amazon Synod.”
I believe that the Idolatry at the Amazon Synod in October 2019, brought on the October 2023 Warning Message from Jesus King of All Nations. You may read my article about that message here.
See How to Practice the Jesus King of All Nations Devotion here.
This Devotion is the remedy for this scandal! Jesus King of All Nations said,
“I Am the Remedy!”
Jesus King of All Nations has now prophesied a GREAT CHASTISEMENT because of unrepentant sinful humanity. He said, “Let it be known and made clear, that soon, very soon, there shall come upon mankind the Great Chastisement which has been prophesied for many years yet held back by the most powerful intercession of my immaculate mother and the prayers and sacrifices of my faithful ones.” (Journal 420).
He said, “Awake! Lift up your heads my people! Do you not see the signs all around you?! A great catastrophe is about to befall you!” (Journal 664).
He said, “It is for your good, O mankind, that I allow my justice to be poured out in order to awaken your conscience and correct your sinful behavior.” (Journal 414).
Listen to Dan HERE talk about chastisements on the Drew Mariani Show on Relevant Radio beginning at minute 37.
Dan Lynch is the Director of Dan Lynch Apostolates promoting devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Jesus King of All Nations, Our Lady of America and St. John Paul II. He is an author, public speaker and a former judge and lawyer in Vermont. He has appeared many times on radio and television and has spoken at conferences throughout the world. You may learn more about Dan HERE.
To see Amazon’s Top Dan Lynch Titles for You Click HERE.
For more information about hosting The Visitation Image of Jesus, King of All Nations, please click HERE.
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