Mariologists publish scathing critique of Vatican note on Mary\u2019s titles One of the Catholic Church\u2019s foremost associations of Mariologists has issued a strongly critical response to Mater Populi Fidelis, a recently published Vatican doctrinal note that has been criticized for its diminution of some long-established devotional Marian titles. In a 23-page document published Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the International Marian Association Theological Commission (IMATC) points to various elements of Mater Populi Fidelis(\u201cThe Mother of the Faithful People of God\u201d) that it calls erroneous, \u201cunfortunate,\u201d and says are in need of \u201csubstantial clarification and modification.\u201d They describe a significant element of the document as resembling Protestant rather than Catholic theology and urge, \u201cin a spirit of true synodal dialogue,\u201d for Mater Populi Fidelis to be reevaluated. Published on Nov. 4 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Mater Populi Fidelis teaches that Mary\u2019s unique cooperation in salvation must always be understood as entirely dependent on, and subordinate to, Christ\u2019s one mediation and universal redemptive sacrifice, rejecting any formulations that would blur this asymmetry. The doctrinal note reaffirms approved Marian titles such as Mother of God and Mother of the Church but judges the titles \u201cCo\u2011Redemptrix\u201d and certain uses of \u201cMediatrix of All Graces\u201d pastorally and theologically ambiguous, discouraging their use in official teaching or liturgy, while not denying the truths they seek to express. In Catholic theology, the title \u201cCo\u2011Redemptrix\u201d expresses Mary\u2019s unique and entirely subordinate cooperation in Christ\u2019s one redemptive work, above all through her fiat at the Incarnation and her union with his sacrifice, without adding a second redeemer alongside him. The title \u201cMediatrix of All Graces\u201d signifies that every grace won by Christ the sole mediator is distributed by God through Mary\u2019s maternal intercession, so that she participates as a secondary, dependent channel in the communication of Christ\u2019s grace to humanity. The 2010 edition of the New Catholic Encyclopedia states that the title Co-Redemptrix first appeared in Catholic literature toward the end of the 14th century and that \u201cCatholics no longer question its legitimacy\u201d as the title has been used at various times in the intervening centuries, including by the Holy See in the 20th century. The encyclopedia says the genesis of the title Mediatrix of All Graces is \u201crather obscure\u201d but dates back to eighth-century saints and \u201cwas applied to Our Lady with ever-increasing frequency until it became generally accepted in the 17th century.\u201d The DDF\u2019s diminution of the titles has drawn considerable criticism from Mariologists concerned that it adopts a minimalist view of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her role in salvation. The concern is that it could lessen popular devotion to her and risks ending new Marian dogmas related to these titles after decades of Mariological work. Still, others have praised it as a clarifying and ecumenically unifying move, re-centering Marian language clearly on Christ and discouraging titles they believe can be easily misunderstood. The International Marian Association comprises theologians, bishops, clergy, religious, and lay leaders who seek to promote full Marian truth and devotion throughout the world. The association\u2019s theological commission comprises cardinals, bishops, and over 40 internationally respected theologians and Mariologists such as U.S. scholars Scott Hahn, Mark Miravalle, and Michael Sirilla. It begins by praising some of the positive aspects of the DDF document. They like its strong emphasis in affirming Christ as the sole divine redeemer, important scriptural references to Mary\u2019s cooperation in salvation history, and that it \u201caffirms in general the cooperation of the faithful in the saving work of Christ,\u201d and refers to \u201cthe singular and distinct cooperation of Mary.\u201d But the authors, recalling their canonical right to express their concerns to pastors, soon list a plethora of criticisms, noting from the outset that although an expression of the ordinary magisterium, the doctrinal note is on a \u201clower level\u201d than direct pronouncements from the pope. Co-Redemptrix title On the title Co-Redemptrix, the theologians push back against the note\u2019s warning that it is \u201calways inappropriate\u201d \u2014 or, according to some translations, \u201calways inopportune\u201d \u2014 to use the title to define Mary\u2019s cooperation. The DDF note says that the title \u201crisks obscuring Christ\u2019s unique salvific mediation\u201d and can therefore cause confusion. The IMATC counters that statement stating that if the title Co-Redemptrix is always inappropriate or inopportune to use, \u201cthen the popes who approved or used the title were acting in an inappropriate and imprudent manner.\u201d They add: \u201cIf it is always inappropriate to use the title, then the saints and mystics who used this title were irresponsible and inappropriate.\u201d The theologians welcome a later clarification from DDF prefect Cardinal Victor Manuel Fern\u00e1ndez who told the journalist Diane Montagna on Nov. 25 that the title Co-Redemptrix is, \u201cfrom now on,\u201d \u201calways inappropriate\u201d to use in \u201cofficial documents of the magisterium,\u201d but it can still be used in discussions, prayer groups, and private devotion. But the IMATC says the document still has a \u201csubstantial omission of the redemptive value of Mary\u2019s unique active cooperation in objective redemption, as well as what we see to be an unnecessary prohibition of the legitimate Co-Redemptrix title from future official documents of the Holy See and from liturgical texts.\u201d The move, they say, represents \u201can anti-development of doctrine.\u201d The theologians dismiss various other claims in the DDF note, including its argument that the Marian titles are best not used as they are \u201cunhelpful\u201d as they require \u201crepeated explanations.\u201d Many theological terms require perennial explanation, counters the commission, and cite as examples the title \u201cMother of God,\u201d the Holy Trinity, transubstantiation, and papal infallibility. They note how, despite ruling not to use the term Co-Redemptrix, the DDF acknowledges the title has been used for centuries, and stress that Co-Redemptrix had been preferred instead of Redemptrix precisely to emphasize Mary\u2019s subordination and dependency on Christ, the Redeemer. The theologians cite how often popes have used the title and state that it is \u201cunfortunate\u201d these examples \u201care not given greater respect or presence in the actual text.\u201d They also recall previous warnings against the contents of the DDF note, quoting Father Rene Laurentin, regarded as \u201cone of the world\u2019s foremost students\u201d of Mariology, who wrote in 1951 it would be \u201cgravely temerarious to attack the legitimacy\u201d of the title Co-Redemptrix, and another respected Mariologist, Jesuit Father J.A. De Aldama, who wrote in 1950 that it is \u201cnot permitted to doubt its appropriateness.\u201d Citing prominent theologians of the past, they dispute the DDF\u2019s claim that the Second Vatican Council refrained from using the title, calling the claim \u201cnot entirely accurate,\u201d as Lumen Gentium, especially No. 58, \u201cexplicitly affirms the doctrine of Mary as Co-Redemptrix without using the term.\u201d They also stress that previous popes, such as Pius XI, Pius XII, and John Paul II, have explained the meaning of the title and taught that Mary is the \u201cnew Eve.\u201d The DDF document, they conclude, \u201cis not merely discouraging the Co-Redemptrix title; it is also failing to teach in a positive way Mary\u2019s truly redemptive role with and under Jesus in redemption as put forth by the papal magisterium.\u201d They further contend that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger\u2019s negative response in 1996 to a dogmatic definition of Mary as Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix of All Graces \u201cconcerned the maturity\u201d of the proposed dogma, \u201cnot a repudiation of the titles,\u201d and he never forbade use of the term. Mediatrix of All Graces Concerning Mary\u2019s title as Mediatrix of All Graces, the IMATC criticized the DDF note for seeking to reduce Mary\u2019s maternal mediation only to intercession and for omitting the teaching of 12 popes, including Pope Francis, over four centuries, that upholds Mary\u2019s universal mediation, each of which it lists. The Marian association also notes that the DDF failed to mention three pontifical commissions established by Pius XI that resulted in 2,000 pages of theological support in favor of the papal definition of Mary\u2019s universal mediation of grace. After presenting further arguments in support of the title, the IMATC asks that the \u201clong-standing doctrinal teaching\u201d of Mary as Mediatrix of All Graces be affirmed and celebrated. Mater Populi Fidelis states that Marian mediation should not be understood in terms of producing grace, but while the IMATC agrees that true grace only comes from God, it says the note \u201cfails to affirm the active and causal secondary mediation of Mary in the distribution of graces\u201d \u2014 something, it says, that previous popes such as Pius X clearly taught. It states that the DDF note \u201cagain does not appear reconcilable with papal doctrine.\u201d Further criticisms of the DDF note the IMATC makes is that the document misses a \u201ctrue presentation of Mary\u2019s authentic motherhood\u201d and Mary\u2019s intimate union with Christ in the sanctification of souls \u2014 a teaching St. John Paul II espoused in his 1987 encyclical Redemptoris Mater. Furthermore, it says the DDF note minimizes Mary\u2019s merits and, it believes, therefore \u201cundermines all human merit and cooperation in the work of redemption.\u201d The IMATC expresses concern that by lessening the magisterial doctrine of Mary as Mediatrix of All Graces, the DDF has thrown many Marian practices, such as those connected with the Miraculous Medal, the rosary, and scapular, \u201cinto unnecessary confusion and doubt.\u201d It asks how religious communities who use the Co-Redemptrix title in their name are to proceed, and how the 10 million members strong Legion of Mary will respond given that the organization\u2019s handbook has 10 references to Mary as Mediatrix of All Graces. More importantly, the theologians believe the document will undermine the faithful\u2019s confidence in the papal magisterium, and notes \u201cconfusion and frustration\u201d in this area \u201care already being voiced.\u201d A week before the publication of the IMATC response, Mariologists launched a filial appeal to Pope Leo XIV, noting the \u201cdismay and consternation\u201d among many of the faithful following the publication of Mater Populi Fidelis and calling on Leo to restore the \u201chonor, truth, and special veneration owed to the Blessed Virgin Mary.\u201d Protestant more than Catholic The IMATC theologians contend that it is \u201cprecisely the teachings\u201d of Mary as Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix that \u201cconstitute the perpetual doctrine of the Church\u201d as they have been taught from Scripture to the Patristic model of Mary as the new Eve, up to modern and contemporary popes. They believe the risks mentioned by the DDF \u201cappear more theoretical than real\u201d and add that, on the contrary, the titles become \u201cexcellent opportunities for authentic Catholic evangelization\u201d along with other key Catholic truths that require appropriate explanations. Catholic theology affirms that God willed the Virgin Mary to have a role in the work of redemption, the theologians stress, and God wished to associate the contribution of an immaculate human woman and mother to his saving design. \u201cTo propose, instead, a redemption based on \u2018Jesus alone\u2019 bereft of any human redemptive value on the part of Mary, seems to resemble more a Protestant theology of redemption than that of the Catholic Church,\u201d the IMATC says. They close by stating it is their \u201csincere hope and prayer\u201d that their response will contribute, \u201cin a spirit of true synodal dialogue, to a reevaluation of Mater Populi Fidelis\u201d and that such a reevaluation \u201cwill lead to a new expression of the magisterium concerning these critically important Marian doctrines and titles in greater consistency, development, and harmony with the doctrinal teachings of previous popes.\u201d \u201cAmong such teachings,\u201d it says, \u201care those that recognize the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix of All Graces.\u201d This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA\u2019s sister news partner, and has been adapted by CNA. Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. 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