Pope Francis Asks for Forgiveness After Amazon Statues Stolen, Thrown Into River in Rome

Pope Francis asked Amazonian bishops and tribal leaders for forgiveness Friday after indigenous statues were stolen from a Vatican-area church and thrown into a nearby river.

The wood-carved figures of naked pregnant women, known as Pachamama, were brought to the Vatican to be displayed during the pope’s three-week assembly of Amazonian clergy, called a synod.

The pope insisted there was no intention of idolatry, which undercut conservative claims that the statues are symbols of pagan worship.

“Above all, this happened in Rome and as the bishop of this diocese I ask forgiveness of the people who were offended by this gesture,” Francis told the synod hall.

The Vatican has said the statues are symbols of life, fertility and Mother Earth.

Florida man allegedly attacked sister with machete while she was sleeping next to toddler daughter

Trump blasts Democratic socialist candidate as ‘full of s—‘ and Dems are skipping socialism ‘for communism’

Florida man accused of cutting off diver’s air supply in fight over coveted lobster diving spot

Bodycam video shows Canadian woman allegedly giving false name before deputies discovered 12 fake IDs

Federal judge acknowledges Supreme Court ruling clearing path for Trump to end Haiti TPS

Fauci’s HHS iPhone turned over to Senate investigators as contempt vote looms

Trans Star Jailed, Charged with Multiple Felonies Related to ‘Alleged Sexual Assault Involving a Juvenile’

Masked man caught on camera smashing Virgin Mary statue with a hammer outside NYC church

El-Sayed’s threat against GOP rival backfires as conservatives bring receipts: ‘Is Dubai in Florida’

Taxpayer-funded housing for illegal immigrants in GOP’s crosshairs: ‘It’s got to stop’

African Nation Names One of the Continent’s Largest Roads ‘Donald J. Trump Highway’

In Nevada speech, Trump chases after toddler on stage before joking he doesn’t want him to ‘be Biden and fall’

Democratic Rep. Who Pushed Latest Impeachment Attempt Against Trump Loses Re-Election Bid

Fauci’s Attorney Makes Tone-Deaf Attempt to Turn the Tables on Aaron Rodgers After QB’s Epic Rant

Trump Celebrates as His Endorsed Candidates Win Key Primaries

The wooden figures were found unharmed in the Tiber River this week. The pope said he would consider having them displayed during the final Mass of the synod on Sunday.

The theft was caught on surveillance video Monday as thieves took the figures from the Santa Maria in Traspontina church, just down the block from St. Peter’s Square.

The video appeared to show at least two men enter the church before dawn, take the statues placed at an altar and then throw them in the river. The act was celebrated by conservative Catholics who deemed the statues pagan idols.

Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, the conservative German fired by Francis in 2017 as the Vatican’s doctrine chief, said it was a “great mistake” to bring the statues to the Vatican in the first place.

“To throw it out can be against human law, but to bring the idols into the church was a grave sin, a crime against divine law,” he told conservative U.S. Catholic broadcaster EWTN.

While the theft was cheered by conservative Catholics, progressives denounced the act as racism.

“Can you imagine the conservative outcry if someone tossed the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa into the Tiber?” the National Catholic Reporter, a progressive Catholic magazine, said in an editorial this week. “We do not use the term ‘racists’ lightly, but what else is it?”