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.

Cancer-Stricken Former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse Vows To Avoid Being A ‘Pansy A**’ As Life Slips Away

Melania Trump’s Epstein remarks turn up the heat on DOJ, Acting AG Todd Blanche to do more

Machete-Wielding Assailant Calling Himself ‘Lucifer’ Shot Dead by NYPD in Grand Central Station

US military conducts more deadly strikes against vessels of alleged ‘narco-terrorists’

The AI you use every day is biased — and it’s quietly shaping your worldview, new report says

Dinghy route taken by missing American woman and jailed husband recreated as details of disappearance emerge

NYC mayor touts ‘socialist’ wins in first 100 days alongside Bernie Sanders

Trump voices frustration with NATO, says Iranian navy ‘destroyed’ as US preps for blockade

Trump accuses Pope Leo of being ‘terrible’ on foreign policy over pontiff’s anti-war comments

Starved toddler died of neglect after eating diapers, drywall in filthy room, as parents’ room was kept clean

Breaking: Eric Swalwell Suspends Campaign Amid Flurry of Sexual Assault Accusations

Eric Swalwell exits California governor race apologizing for past judgment while denying claims

JD Vance returns to Washington after 16 hours of Iran peace talks collapse in Pakistan

NYC mayor cites $180K racial wealth gap to justify taxes, police cuts

Manhunt underway after gunmen storm Chick-fil-A leaving 1 dead

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?”