While Pope Francis has previously stated that he’s open to allowing non-celibate priests in regions such as the Pacific Islands, according to America Magazine reports, the prospect of allowing married men to be ordained has pitted progressive Catholics and traditionalists against each other.
Some of that debate centered around the Pachamama statues, with some Catholic leaders accusing the synod of welcoming in pagan symbolism. Catholic news outlet Crux Now reported that some clergy defended the statues as “an indigenous statue of the Virgin Mary,” an argument which was countered when a Synod communications official told a press conference that the statue was merely a representation of life, according to one Catholic News Agency report.
Many religious leaders denounced the theft of the statues as an act of contempt toward indigenous people. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and editor of America Magazine called it “astonishing” in a tweet, adding that “All this hatred leads inevitably to violence.”
Still, others such as writer Emily Zanotti supported to removal of the statues, calling it “righteous” to be angry at what they considered evidence of outside, non-Christian influence on the Vatican.
