Leo Rewards Bishop Who Offered Coca Leaves To Pachamama

Sixteen days.

That was the interval between Bishop Lizardo Estrada Herrera carrying coca leaves into a ritual offering to Pachamama and Leo naming him coadjutor archbishop of Cuzco.

The word coadjutor means Estrada now possesses the right of succession. When Archbishop Richard Alarcón leaves office, Estrada takes the see automatically. No second appointment or fresh decision. The future of one of Peru’s most important archdioceses has already been signed over to him.

The timing lands like a verdict.

On August 13, Estrada helped inaugurate the Southern Macro-Regional Meeting in Cuzco, an ecclesially sponsored gathering tied to preparations for Leo’s coming visit to Peru. The opening belonged to another religion.

A woman explained that August is Mother Earth’s month. Participants received coca leaves, breathed over them three times, and carried them to the offering. “Grandmother Fire” was asked to receive their messages and return wisdom. Estrada walked forward and deposited his leaves. Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith followed him. The footage published by InfoVaticana supplies the gestures, the words, and the setting. No Catholic prayer interrupts the rite.

On August 29, the Holy See announced Estrada’s promotion. Under canons 403 and 409, a coadjutor succeeds immediately when the see becomes vacant.

Bishop appointments usually take months. The decision may have been far advanced before August 13. That possibility hardly rescues Rome. The video became public on August 18. Eleven days remained in which the announcement could have been delayed while Estrada explained himself. Rome proceeded on schedule. No public investigation appeared. No profession of faith. No reparation. Catholics received a promotion notice.

Hiraeth In Exile