Angelus News | October 25, 2019 | Vol. 4 No. 36

Synodal
surprises
How the Synod
on the Amazon is
producing an unlikely
cast of star players
BY JOHN L. ALLEN JR. /
ANGELUS
ROME — To be honest, Synods
of Bishops in the Vatican aren’t
generally the stuff of high drama.
Participants are often selected because
they support the agenda of the pontiff
who convened the meeting, and synod
staff are generally adept at guiding
things toward the desired conclusions.
Yet because these affairs involve
human beings, many of whom, to be
clear, are alpha personalities accustomed
to doing things their way, there
are always surprises along the way, and
that’s certainly true at the midway point
of the Oct. 6-27 Synod of Bishops for
the Pan-Amazon region in the Vatican.
Herewith, a sampling of noteworthy
twists and turns.
First, it’s striking that at a Synod of
Bishops, at least in the early stages,
most of the stars of the show haven’t
been prelates at all. In fact, you could
make the argument that the two figures
who’ve made the deepest impression
aren’t even human.
That’s because the most memorable
moment so far remains something that
actually happened two days before the
synod’s formal opening.
On Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis
of Assisi, the pope participated in an
indigenous ceremony in the Vatican
gardens in which people knelt and
prayed before two images of semi-naked
pregnant women, causing no small
amount of consternation in traditionalist
Catholic circles, who suspected
some sort of pagan ritual.
Pope Francis and Brazilian Cardinal Cláudio Hummes in front of a statue representing “Pachamama”
(“Mother Earth”) at the Vatican Gardens Oct. 4.
Two weeks later, Vatican spokesmen
were still attempting to put out the fire.
Paolo Ruffini, the Vatican’s communications
czar, told reporters Oct. 16
that he took the statues to simply be
representations of life with no special
spiritual significance, and that “looking
for pagan symbols is seeking evil where
there’s no evil.”
Beyond that minifracas, participants
in the synod will tell you that the
speeches which have stirred the most
reaction have come from the representatives
of the roughly 400 indigenous
communities in the Amazon
rainforest.
PHOTO BY GIULIO ORIGLIA/GETTY IMAGES
22 • ANGELUS • October 25, 2019