A new Vatican decree approved by Pope Leo has tweaked various titles used by Catholics to describe Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Among the popular Mary titles used by the denomination are
“co-redemptrix” and “mediatrix”.
For centuries, Catholics have prayed to Mary to intercede on
their behalf with the use of rosary beads, believing that birthing Christ takes
her up several rungs on the divination hierarchy.
In the decree issued Tuesday, the Vatican noted that Mary
only played a subordinate role in salvation.
“Given the necessity of explaining Mary’s subordinate role
to Christ in the work of Redemption, it is always inappropriate to use the
title ‘Co-redemptrix’ to define Mary’s cooperation,” the text reads.
“This title risks obscuring Christ’s unique salvific
mediation and can therefore create confusion and an imbalance in the harmony of
the truths of the Christian faith… it does not serve the faith of the People of
God and becomes unhelpful.”
The Vatican said neither the church nor Mary can replace or
perfect the redemptive work of Jesus.
On calling Mary a “mediatrix”, the decree clarified that the
biblical account on Christ’s exclusive mediation is conclusive.
The text acknowledged that Mary played a real mediatory role
in enabling Christ’s birth as his mother, but underscored that she played her
part “in a clearly subordinate manner”.
The Vatican stated that both positions were not new, adding
that the late Pope Francis expressed his clear opposition to using the titles
on at least three occasions.
“Christ is the Mediator, the bridge that we cross to turn to
the Father. He is the only Redeemer: there are no co-redeemers with Christ. He
is the Mediator par excellence,” Francis had said in 2021.
“He is the Mediator. Each prayer we raise to God is through
Christ, with Christ and in Christ, and is fulfilled thanks to his
intercession,” Francis had said in 2021.
Once, Francis described the idea of granting Mary the title
of “co-redeemer” as “foolishness”.
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