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.

Bye bye, Bernie? Socialist Sanders is reshaping the Democratic Party in his image in final political act

Portland man sentenced to 30 months in prison for throwing rock at ICE officer during protest

Platner campaign rocked with damning allegations from another ex-lover as Senate race heats up: report

Catholic bishops consecrate US, White House says Trump and Melania ‘join in prayer’ in ‘unprecedented’ gesture

Ilhan Omar Lashes Out at ‘Horrific’ Jerry Seinfeld When He Said Palestine ‘Doesn’t Exist’ After Knicks Game

Karmelo Anthony’s Father Blames ‘White Attorney’ for His Son’s Murder Conviction

Pima County sheriff says Mexican authorities have not made contact over Nancy Guthrie search tip

That Time Leslie Stahl Claimed Hunter’s Laptop Couldn’t Be ‘Verified’ as ’60 Minutes’ Finally Confronts Its Bias

Trump plans to deport Iranians to violence-plagued central African nation in new deal

Trump Admin Shuts Down Mamdani’s Attempt to Meet with Foreign Leader

Man in viral Karmelo Anthony courthouse confrontation arrested at murder trial

Police: Father of Seven Killed on NYC Bus After Confronting Rider Over Loud Phone Conversation

FIRST ON FOX: DOJ sues Spanberger’s Virginia over laws kneecapping federal agents as mask war escalates

New Poll: Majority of Americans Want Every Illegal Immigrant Deported

Bill Cassidy goes out in style

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?”