Leo Hohmann
The Vatican has released the preparatory document for its upcoming Pan-Amazonian Synod of bishops in October, and it contains yet another window into Pope Francis’ green-friendly worldview in which he subtely and deceptively turns traditional, biblical Christianity on its head.
You will recall that just a couple of months ago a group of more than 30 Catholic scholars and clergy signed an open letter to the bishops, pleading that they hold the pope accountable for his anti-Christian, anti-Catholic teachings with regard to marriage, moral teaching, etc. They declared him guilty of at least seven heresies.
The Pan-Amazonian document, titled Instumentum Laboris, will do nothing to assuage the fears of these 30-plus brave Catholic leaders. It’s classic Francis, peppered with radical political ideas cloaked in religious verbiage and lovingly promoted as “ecotheology.”
Among the many strange document proposals are:
- In paragraph #98 c) 3, “training centers” in the Amazon where “The teaching of pan-Amazonian indigenous theology is requested in all educational institutions.”
- In paragraph #98 b) 1. “…it is suggested to integrate indigenous theology and ecotheology that prepares them for listening and open dialogue where evangelization takes place.”
- In paragraph #98 d) 1: “It is requested to deepen an existing Amazonian Indian theology, which will allow a better and greater understanding of indigenous spirituality to avoid committing the historical errors that ran over many original cultures.”
- The document exalts the Amazonians’ desire to “live in harmony with nature, in dialogue with spirits.” (#75)
Reading through Instrumentum laboris, I came away with the impression that Western Christendom, defined by its capitalism and colonialism, represents the world’s sinners while the pagan Amazonian Indians represent the saints. We Christians need to be evangelized by them as much as they by us.
The document is fraught with references to “Mother Earth” while touting a “New Pentecost” based on the “diversity of religion and culture” in the Amazon region of South America that Francis sees as a template for the world.
You will recall that just a few months ago we reported that Pope Francis met with the spiritual leader of the world’s most important institution on Islamic law, Grand Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb of Egypt’s al-Azhar University, and assured him that Islam would get the Vatican’s utmost respect as a religion of peace. Islam is part of the “diversity of religions” that are “willed by God,” the pope and his Muslim partner wrote in their Catholic-Islamic pact.
There are too many disturbing passages in the pre-synod document to go into here but I recommend all Christians read it and familiarize themselves with the vernacular of the current push toward creating a global religion that all can buy into.
The pope and his co-laborers at the United Nations truly intend to leave no religion behind. It doesn’t matter if you are Buddhist, Hindu, pagan, Christian, Jewish or Muslim. We’re all part of the same big family and we just need to learn how to peacefully co-exist in the burgeoning new world order.
But that’s not what you get from this papal document. It touts an “ecological conversion” which means “embracing the mystical-interconnected and interdependent nature of all creation.”
Exactly who are we supposed to be worshipping here? The Creator or the creation? From the language used by Francis, it’s confusing at best.
Just as the pope kissed the grand sheikh of al-Azhar and prayed in his mosque, it seems he is prepared to dance with the demons of pagan Amazon.
In fact, this Vatican document has more condemnation for European “colonizers” than it does for the pagan practices of the indigenous peoples.
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