The Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region (commonly referred to as the "Amazon Synod") got off to a rousing start just a couple of days ago with a bizarre--and we do mean bizarre—tree planting ceremony in the Vatican gardens.
Now, tree plantings are usually non-controversial little events. They’re symbolic. They’re sentimental. They offer those who plant the tree, and those who visit it in years to come—assuming it doesn’t die of transplant shock—a passing reminder of some person or event which will be significant to some subset of the human race, and worthy of perhaps momentary reflection. That, and it’s just beneficial to have a nice tree giving us shade and oxygen.
Planting a tree, or even a very nice shrubbery does not, however, really do anything for our immortal souls. It’s just one of those things that we do or experience during our short lives here on earth.
Until this weekend, that is.
Here we have a scenario where a simple tree-planting ceremony became a tangible and shameful occasion for sin. It was a ceremony which insults the dignity of almighty God and breaks the First Commandment—big time!
So, here’s the deal. They planted a tree, using soil from various places from around the world, as a sort of sappy symbolic symbolism. Ok, swell. At this point, I hope the tree lives and grows up nice and pretty. The fact that the people doing the planting are representatives from the amazon region, that’s swell too. A tree planted on the Vatican ground by amazonians? Fine. One planted by Lithuanians or people from Botswana? That’s great too.
What happened next, however, was an abomination. And that’s not too strong a word.
These people then conducted a very deliberate pagan worship ritual right under the smiling gaze of the Holy Father and several cardinals! We had a blanket spread with various pagan totems, idols, and what I suppose are some variety of heathen sacramentals. The Amazonian participants danced around their totems in one of those nice ritualistic native-style dances like you’d see in old editions of National Geographic. Then they knelt in a circle around their totems and idols, bowing down to them in worship.
I’m not making this up. You can see the videos in social media. Two of the statues were carved wooden images of nude (or at least topless-looking) pregnant women. Supporters of this atrocity assured us that this was a touching and respectful representation of Mary visiting Elizabeth…you know, just like the second joyful mystery of the Rosary.
Yeah. Right.
Later, some persons professing to be in the know said that the statues were a representation of Mother Earth. Either way, the statues were disturbing.
The dancers and idol worshippers were a mixture of European-looking types and indigenous people. And of course, one of the pagans-for-a-day was a Franciscan in full habit. One suspects that at least some of the old women prancing about with feathers were aging hippie plainclothes nuns, but that’s just speculation.
Of course you can’t have a discussion about pagans and trees without bringing good Saint Boniface into the discussion. Remember him? He evangelized pagan tree-worshippers in the dark demonic forests of central Europe. Converted loads of them. What was his technique which finally brought the Germanic tribes out of their bondage to their false gods—and Satan himself?
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One gets the impression that our current batch of theologians would NOT approve of St. Boniface's evangelization techniques...
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He cut down their sacred tree! Chopped it down right in front of their astonished indigenous eyes. He didn’t show a lot of cultural sensitivity, our St. Boniface. But he won thousands upon thousands of lost souls for the kingdom of Christ!
Our world today is in desperate need of men like St. Boniface. We don’t need silly Franciscans mincing about graven heathen images and bowing down before them. We don’t need to plant trees steeped with pagan ritual significance growing in the shadow of St. Peters.
We need a Boniface. And I hope he brings his chainsaw.
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