Hero or Villain

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A story out of Rome didn’t get much news attention in the “secular” media in America because (a) it was a religious subject, and (b) it was in Rome. I found it rather interesting, however. The Vatican held a synod about evangelizing the Amazonian region. It started with what a lot of people, especially in the more “traditional” (read Latin mass movement) realm of Catholicism, considered to be idol worshipping. Figures of the Andes goddess Pachamama were displayed in a church near (but not in) the Vatican. A young (mid-20s) Austrian man and a friend took the figures out of the church early one morning and made like Talking Heads: they took them to the river and dropped them in the water. They lined the five figures up, then knocked them into the Tiber River. The traditional Catholics hailed these men as heroes, stating that the idols had no place in a church. Meanwhile, the Vatican and others were tripping over themselves to apologize to the people who’d brought the Pachamama figures to the Vatican for the synod. The figures were found and retrieved from the river, with reportedly no damage, and Pope Francis issued a formal apology as “bishop of this diocese.” Wow, what a controversial issue....in so many ways!! I’m not Catholic, so I don’t have a “side” in this argument. However, I do agree that the idols are clearly prohibited by the Ten Commandments and should not have been in a Christian church. This doesn’t mean that people aren’t free to worship the idols (or any idol, or any religion, or no religion at all). It just that...well, you don’t go barging into a mosque and set up a Buddha statue. You don’t have to agree with them to respect their right to worship in peace as they see fit. However, there is the proverbial “other side of the coin.” According to Picky Wedia (a dubious reference spot, granted), once Spain conquered the region and brought Catholicism with it, “The figure of the Virgin Mary was equated with that of the Pachamama for many of the indigenous people.” Most people, too, know that many symbols and dates in Christianity were copied from paganism (such as the Yule log, mistletoe, and even the date December 25th....). The icons and relics in a Catholic church have their origins in those pre-Christian things. So, were these two men heroes or villains? I suppose a person’s opinion depends on which side of the argument he/she is on. The video the two men took of their deed: