A new Vatican decree approved by Pope Leo has tweakedvarious 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 ontheir behalf with the use of rosary beads, believing that birthing Christ takesher up several rungs on the divination hierarchy. In the decree issued Tuesday, the Vatican noted that Maryonly played a subordinate role in salvation. “Given the necessity of explaining Mary’s subordinate roleto Christ in the work of Redemption, it is always inappropriate to use thetitle ‘Co-redemptrix’ to define Mary’s cooperation,” the text reads. “This title risks obscuring Christ’s unique salvificmediation and can therefore create confusion and an imbalance in the harmony ofthe truths of the Christian faith... it does not serve the faith of the People ofGod and becomes unhelpful.” The Vatican said neither the church nor Mary can replace orperfect the redemptive work of Jesus. On calling Mary a “mediatrix”, the decree clarified that thebiblical account on Christ’s exclusive mediation is conclusive. The text acknowledged that Mary played a real mediatory rolein enabling Christ’s birth as his mother, but underscored that she played herpart “in a clearly subordinate manner”. The Vatican stated that both positions were not new, addingthat the late Pope Francis expressed his clear opposition to using the titleson at least three occasions. “Christ is the Mediator, the bridge that we cross to turn tothe Father. He is the only Redeemer: there are no co-redeemers with Christ. Heis the Mediator par excellence,” Francis had said in 2021. “He is the Mediator. Each prayer we raise to God is throughChrist, with Christ and in Christ, and is fulfilled thanks to hisintercession,” Francis had said in 2021. Once, Francis described the idea of granting Mary the titleof “co-redeemer” as “foolishness”.
Related Articles
Don't miss out on breaking stories and in-depth articles.