Good morning, Father Angelo,

I am writing to you because, for a couple of years, I have had a Peruvian girlfriend living here in Italy, and we have been living our engagement in a Christian manner. However, she is struggling to completely “repudiate” her old cultural influences and beliefs regarding Pachamama (Mother Earth).

I tried to make her understand that, in my opinion, they are incompatible with our Catholic faith, but we agreed to postpone the discussion until a future meeting with a priest.

I thought no one better than you, Father Angelo, could enlighten us on this matter. Thank you for your attention.

God would always bless you.

Alberto

The Priest’s Answer

Dear Alberto, 

1. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, here following to St. Augustine, there are three kinds of superstition: idolatry, which gives undue worship to a creature; divinatory superstition, which consults demons by dealing with them, tacitly or explicitly, to obtain information; the vain observance which a false power is attributed to certain rituals by.

(rf. Summa Theologiae, II-II, 92, 2).

2. By the Italian Wikipedia I take this information: [tr.] “In the month of August, the Andean populations, even today, practice the cult of thanksgiving to Mother Earth, returning to it the nourishment it provides them. A huge pit is dug, where those who participate in the rite offer food, placing dishes that are cooked specifically for the occasion. Each participant pours a portion of food into the hole as thanks to Mother Earth. Finally, the hole is completely covered and each participant places a stone on top. This creates a real mound of stones, called Apachete. Usually, for this ritual, the highest spot is chosen to ensure it is as close as possible to the Sun (Inti). It is a widespread custom throughout Argentina and other neighboring countries to celebrate August 1st with a ceremony that consists of drinking seven small sips of carrulim or caña de rue on an empty stomach, with the aim of purifying the blood and bringing good luck, in keeping with customs and knowledge related to nature and the universe.

3. Initially, Mother Earth was considered a deity who united with Pacha-camac, the god of the sky.

It is known that during the Amazon Synod, the statuette of Pacha-mama was carried in procession.

Some accused that of idolatry.

Undoubtedly, there were grounds for misunderstanding, especially since, at least externally, acts of worship were observed toward the statuette.

4. However, we must distinguish between myth and popular custom.

The Bishop Emeritus of San Cristobal de las Casas (Mexico), Msgr. Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel, spoke about that in the Osservatore Romano, whose words here I quote: [tr.] “The images or figures used in the ceremony in the Vatican Gardens at the beginning of the Pan-Amazon Synod and in the procession from St. Peter’s Basilica to the Synod Hall, which Pope Francis participated in, and later in other churches in Rome, have caused a great stir. Some condemn these acts as if they were idolatry, a worship of ‘mother earth’ and other ‘divinities.’ None of this occurred.”

In that same article, he recalled that in his previous diocese, whenever he heard “mother earth” spoken of with great affection and respect, he felt uncomfortable, because he said: “My only mothers are my mother, the Virgin Mary, and the Church.” And when he saw people prostrating themselves to kiss the earth, he felt even more uncomfortable. But living with the indigenous people, he understood that they do not worship it as a goddess, but rather want to value it and recognize it as a true mother, because the earth does give us food, water, air, and everything we need to live. They do not consider it a goddess, they do not worship it, they simply express their respect and pray, giving thanks to God for it.

5. In that case, it would not be idolatry. At most—according to our categories—we could speak of vain observances.

Vain observances consist in the performance of certain rites to propitiate good and ward off misfortune.

St. Thomas says very bluntly that “these signs are brought forward, not on divine authority, but rather by human vanity with the cooperation of the malice of the demons, who strive to entangle men’s minds with such like trifles. Accordingly, it is evident that all these observances are superstitious and unlawful: they are apparently remains of idolatry, which authorized the observance of auguries, of lucky and unlucky days which is allied to divination by the stars, in respect of which one day differentiated from another: except that these observances are devoid of reason and art, wherefore they are yet more vain and superstitious.” (Summa Theologiae, II-II, 96, 3).

6. But, according to the bishop emeritus of San Cristobal de las Casas, even that was not the case. It was a typical custom of the people to thank God, the giver of our mother earth, as St. Francis called it.

However, in our view, those statuettes hark back to myth.

7. It is known that those statuettes were stolen and thrown into the Tiber.

Pope Francis, announcing that those statuettes had been found, said: [tr.] “I would like to tell you a word about the statues of Pachamama that were removed from the church in Traspontina, which were there without idolatrous intentions, and were thrown into the Tiber. First of all, this happened in Rome, and as bishop of the diocese, I ask forgiveness from those who were offended by that action.”

These words—if rightly addressed to the many people who felt offended by that procession—seem to at least acknowledge the inappropriateness of the gesture.

Therefore, it is necessary to make distinctions to understand the meaning of certain rites.

I bless you,

Father Angelo

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