"Vatican accuses conservative social media of fomenting hate after statues dumped"

"Monday’s incident came in the final week of an assembly of bishops to discuss the future of the Church in the Amazon region. The stolen statues were on display along with other Amazon artifacts at a church near the Vatican. 'In the name of tradition and doctrine, an effigy of maternity and the sacredness of life was dumped in contempt,' said Andrea Tornielli, the Vatican’s editorial director. Tornielli said the incident was a 'violent and intolerant gesture' and that the thieves had 'passed from hate on social media to action'. He said it was shocking that one conservative Catholic website headlined its story on the theft 'Justice is Served.' Even before the synod started, conservative Catholic social media attacked its working document as heretical, particularly for suggesting that elderly married men could be ordained as priests to say Mass in the vast region.. They later expressed outrage at the use of an Amazonian statue of a pregnant woman at an opening ceremony. Hardline conservative media said the statue was of a pagan goddess known as Pachamama. The Vatican said it was an indigenous traditional symbol of life."