ANCIENT PAGAN GOD MOLOCH IN ROME

The pagan god Moloch greets visitors to the Colosseum, Rome, as part of an exhibition that opened Sept. 27, 2019.sanmarinortv.sm / screen grab

NEWSCATHOLIC CHURCHWed Nov 6, 2019 - 12:18 pm EST

Statue of ancient god of child sacrifice put on display in Rome

LifeSiteNews staff

 
 

  Amazon Synod, Catholic, Moloch, Pachamama

ROME, November 6, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – A reconstruction of a pagan idol who demanded child sacrifice was stationed at the entrance of Rome’s Colosseum as part of a secular historical exhibition.

The presence of the idol raised particular concern among Catholics, as it was erected nine days before the Amazon Synod and the subsequent scandal over the veneration of the Pachamama idol at the Vatican.

The statue of Moloch, worshipped by both the Canaanites and the Phoenicians, is part of an exhibit dedicated to Ancient Rome’s once-great rival, the city of Carthage. The large-scale exhibition, titled Carthago: The immortal myth, runs until March 29, 2020.

The pagan god Moloch greets visitors to the Colosseum, Rome, as part of an exhibition that opened Sept. 27, 2019.sanmarinortv.sm / screen grab

"A reconstruction of the terrible deity Moloch, linked to Phoenician and Carthaginian religions and featured in the 1914 film Cabiria (directed by Giovanni Pastore and written by Gabriele D’Annunzio) will be stationed at the entrance to the Colosseum to welcome visitors to the exhibition," stated a press release about the exhibit. 

The statue of Moloch was erected nine days prior to the opening of the Amazon Synod, which was plagued with controversy from the beginning after a ceremony in the Vatican Gardens involving the pagan goddess “Pachamama” was held in the presence of Pope Francis and top-ranking prelates.

People bow to Pachamama during pagan rite in Vatican Gardens prior to opening of Amazon Synod, Oct. 4, 2019.

In the ceremony, participants prostrated themselves before wooden statuettes of the fertility goddess indigenous to South America. The statuettes were kept as part of an exhibit in the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina until they were thrown into the Tiber by Austrian Catholic Alexander Tschugguel on Oct. 21. Afterward, one copy of the mass-produced figures was kept in the church. 

Some Catholics are distressed that the pagan god Moloch has been erected at the entrance to the Colosseum, which is one of many amphitheatres where Christians were tortured and executed for the entertainment of the pagan crowds. 

"We were so excited the day we decided to go to the Colosseum,” Alexandra Clark told LifeSiteNews via email. She and her sister Tiffany were looking forward to visiting the site of Christian martyrdom.

“But the moment we got there the sight that greeted us was horrifying! Standing guard over the entrance was the colossal pagan statue of Moloch. It was placed in that prime spot so that everyone that entered into the Colosseum had to pass it,” she continued. 

Detail of the pagan god Moloch who greets visitors to the Colosseum, Rome, as part of an exhibition that opened Sept. 27, 2019.sanmarinortv.sm / screen grab

“It was like they put Moloch there to mock the sacred place where the holy martyrs spilled their blood for the True Faith!”

Clark saw a connection between the idol of Moloch and the Pachamama images that featured so prominently at the recently concluded Amazonian Synod. 

"A reconstruction of the terrible deity Moloch, linked to Phoenician and Carthaginian religions and featured in the 1914 film Cabiria (directed by Giovanni Pastore and written by Gabriele D’Annunzio) will be stationed at the entrance to the Colosseum to welcome visitors to the exhibition," stated a press release about the exhibit. 

The statue of Moloch was erected nine days prior to the opening of the Amazon Synod, which was plagued with controversy from the beginning after a ceremony in the Vatican Gardens involving the pagan goddess “Pachamama” was held in the presence of Pope Francis and top-ranking prelates.

People bow to Pachamama during pagan rite in Vatican Gardens prior to opening of Amazon Synod, Oct. 4, 2019.

In the ceremony, participants prostrated themselves before wooden statuettes of the fertility goddess indigenous to South America. The statuettes were kept as part of an exhibit in the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina until they were thrown into the Tiber by Austrian Catholic Alexander Tschugguel on Oct. 21. Afterward, one copy of the mass-produced figures was kept in the church. 

Some Catholics are distressed that the pagan god Moloch has been erected at the entrance to the Colosseum, which is one of many amphitheatres where Christians were tortured and executed for the entertainment of the pagan crowds. 

"We were so excited the day we decided to go to the Colosseum,” Alexandra Clark told LifeSiteNews via email. She and her sister Tiffany were looking forward to visiting the site of Christian martyrdom.

“But the moment we got there the sight that greeted us was horrifying! Standing guard over the entrance was the colossal pagan statue of Moloch. It was placed in that prime spot so that everyone that entered into the Colosseum had to pass it,” she continued. 

Detail of the pagan god Moloch who greets visitors to the Colosseum, Rome, as part of an exhibition that opened Sept. 27, 2019.sanmarinortv.sm / screen grab

“It was like they put Moloch there to mock the sacred place where the holy martyrs spilled their blood for the True Faith!”

Clark saw a connection between the idol of Moloch and the Pachamama images that featured so prominently at the recently concluded Amazonian Synod.