Greater precision in the terms to understand what has always been clear to the Mother of God: she herself is redeemed and therefore cannot be said to be “redeemer” on the same level as Jesus. This is what emerges in the substantial document of 80 points in the document Mater Populi fidelispresented on 4 November by the Dicastery for the doctrine of the faith, signed by the prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, and the Secretary for the doctrinal section, Monsignor Armando Matteo, approved by Pope Leo XIV on 7 October. The note, the result of a long and detailed collegial work, offers the possibility of rediscovering the biblical foundation of devotion towards Mary, but also various contributions from the Fathers, the Doctors of the Church, the Eastern tradition and the latest Pontiffs. Clarity is clarified on some names, such as “co-redemptrix” and “mediatrix”. Even if some Marian titles can be explained through correct exegesis, in fact, it is considered preferable to avoid them so as not to generate confusion, also due to the sometimes distorted use that is made of them on social media, or by groups that use the figure of the Virgin to generate apocalyptic fears, or exploiting her for political purposes. In fact, we read in point 44: «Even when we do not ask for her intercession, she shows herself close as a Mother, to help us recognize the love of the Father, to contemplate the salvific gift of Christ, to welcome the sanctifying action of the Spirit. Its value for the Church is so great that pastors must avoid any political exploitation of this closeness of the Mother. Pope Francis has warned on several occasions and expressed his concern regarding “ideological-cultural proposals of different kinds that want to appropriate the meeting of a people with their Mother”. And again, at point 22: «It is always inappropriate to use the title of Coredemptrix to define Mary’s cooperation. This title risks obscuring the unique salvific mediation of Christ and, therefore, can generate confusion and imbalance in the harmony of the truths of the Christian faith, because «in no one else is there salvation; for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we are saved” (Acts 4:12). The point is to remain within the scope of a correct Christological vision, in which Mary enters as the Mother of Christ, as a humanity that does not affect the divinity, and is always considered in relation to, as a function of Christ. As Cardinal Fernández stated, what is specifically addressed is the Virgin’s relationship with believers and “it is not necessary to invent other concepts to enhance Mary’s role in the lives of the faithful”. The document – the cardinal specified – responds to doubts and proposals received by the Holy See in the last thirty years regarding Marian devotion and titles (also the request for a new dogma on the role of Coredemptrix), therefore “it belongs to the ordinary magisterium of the Church and must be taken into consideration in the study and in-depth analysis of Mariological topics”.
The objective is to live and promote Marian devotion as best as possible, which “is at the heart of the faith of the Church”, as Monsignor Riccardo Bollati, Head of the Doctrinal Office of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, professor of theology at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and editor, together with the president of the Ratzinger Foundation, Father Federico Lombardi, of the publication of the unpublished homilies of Pope Benedict XVI, tells us.
What was the fundamental reason that led to the elaboration of this Note?
“There Mater Populi fidelis arises from the need to clarify the Church’s teaching on the devotion of the faithful towards the Mother of Jesus, Mary of Nazareth, a devotion that is at the heart of the Church’s faith. Mary’s motherhood is in fact present in our creed, which, speaking of Jesus, says: “Born of the Virgin Mary”. Mary’s is a special motherhood, it is a virginal motherhood, the fruit of God’s direct intervention in history. Therefore it is important, for the Church itself and for its faith in Christ, to clarify well and avoid any possible ambiguity or imprecision that may affect devotion towards Mary”.
What is the underlying clarifying message intended to be given?
«Reiterating that Mary is inseparable from Jesus, her Son, and continually leads us to Him. The hearts of Jesus and Mary are one and operate in full, total and definitive communion and harmony. Mary is in fact the prototype of the believer, who follows God with simplicity, entrusts herself and abandons herself totally to Him, and becomes one with Him. And Mary’s faith is the realized example of an adult Christian faith: in Her faith operates fully through charity. Furthermore, as Dante says, Mary is “a lively fountain of hope”, because she effectively intercedes for all those who turn to her. In the person of Mary, faith, hope and charity are fully combined. Mary herself, from Heaven, in the full vision of the Lord and in communion with the Risen Jesus and with all the saints, exercises her maternal function towards the Church and believers, interceding for them and working so that their hearts open with trust and simplicity to the action of God, to his grace. In this sense, as the Second Vatican Council says, Mary is “Mother in the order of grace” (Lumen Gentium 61)”.
The document quotes Pope Francis several times, who on two occasions expressed himself negatively on the title of Mediatrix, explaining that Vergne herself never claimed anything for herself, but always followed her Son…
«For Mary it is clear that everything is relative to Jesus and his Spirit, everything is relative to God and refers to Him. For her, as for Saint Paul, it is clear that “there is only one God and there is only one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Letter to Timothy 2, 5-6). Mary herself therefore receives salvation from God, even if this happens with a particular grace that makes her “first” of the redeemed, and gives her a humanity free from the constraints of original sin. She herself is redeemed, and therefore, despite collaborating in the Redemption brought about by her son Jesus and despite being the first of those who cooperate with Him, in a proper and precise sense, she cannot be said to be “redeemer” on the same level as Jesus. Therefore some titles referring to Mary, such as for example that of “co-redemptrix”, are not suitable to express all this well and, to be correctly understood, would require so many further specifications and clarifications that the Church has now deemed it appropriate not to use them: in fact, those titles they would risk creating more problems than the honors that many people, certainly in good faith and to be respected, would like to pay to Mary”.
Even more so since, as Cardinal Fernandez explained at the presentation of the document, the intention is certainly not to diminish the devotion to Mary, “a precious treasure for the Church”, but to enhance it. How much can the precision of terms help devotion?
«The correct expression of faith requires realism, that is, humble and precise adherence to the reality of the mysteries that God reveals and to a language that is capable of adequately signifying them. It shuns any exaggeration, whether maximalist or minimalist: we need to stay with the reality of things as they are and with a language that correctly expresses that reality! In fact, each word conveys and codifies a particular meaning and refers to a reality expressed by that meaning. The language we use is not, in fact, indifferent to the meanings it expresses, given that some words express them better and other words less well or worse. Therefore, using terms that do not adequately express the realities and mysteries of faith would introduce a dissociation between those same realities and the conscience of believers, and this is not good, because it goes against the truth. The Church must therefore take all this into account also in the way of expressing the devotion of believers, which is not an area abandoned to the feelings of each individual or to the discretion of what each individual thinks they believe. Everything that the Church offers us is a help to face the reality of the mysteries revealed by God, beyond what we would like to think about them. The Church, with its teaching, must take charge of all this: this is why the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith decided to publish this Note, which was authoritatively approved by Leo XIV. For us Christians, faith in Jesus Christ is not something arbitrary or at the mercy of what everyone thinks: faith is always both personal and communal, and lives on an uninterrupted dialogue, identification and communion between the faith of individuals and the faith expressed authoritatively by the Church, which individuals are called to understand and to which they are called to adhere with the use of all their intelligence and will. The same faith of the individual faithful nourishes and gives substance, in turn, to the faith of the whole Church, in a continuous dialogue. In this dialogue, a fundamental task of discernment falls to the ecclesial hierarchy, that is, to the Pope and the bishops. Therefore, the hierarchy of the Church has the freedom, and indeed has the duty, to recall what correctly corresponds to the faith of the Church and what does not correspond to it, given that it recognizes among its tasks that of reminding everyone of the authentic expression of faith in Christ and everything that derives from it, possibly pointing out what is wrong. And the devotion of Christians either draws faithfully from the faith of the Church or builds on the sand. If you read the Note carefully, all this can be understood well.”
Is there no risk of disappointed expectations or negative comments (for some time a strong movement, especially in the USA, has been insistently calling for the proclamation of the dogma of Mary Co-Redemptrix)?
«Since the Note also intervenes to draw attention to some Marian titles which over time have proven to be increasingly unsuitable for expressing the truth they intend to propose, that is, Mary’s “cooperation” in the redemptive work of Christ, surely those who usually use those titles will be disappointed. The Church is a place of dialogue in which we are called first of all to seek, recognize and affirm the evidence of some reasons, in fidelity to what God has revealed, and not an arena in which factions face each other. And then the Note deals with topics already addressed by the Dicastery 30 years ago (quotations abound from Cardinal Ratzinger, future Pope Benedict XVI, who was prefect of the then Congregation, ed.). It is, at times, also the place of heated confrontation, but always in sincere openness to understanding the reasons of the other, weighing and seeking with humble loyalty those arguments which are more probative, that is, which take more into account all the elements in play, respecting the harmony and hierarchy of the truths in question, especially if they are truths revealed by God and proposed to be believed by the Church. It is worth remembering that the Note deals with matters of fact already studied and clarified by the Dicastery thirty years ago, accepted by all the cardinals and bishops who were part of it at the time, and that Saint John Paul II himself stopped using titles such as “co-redemptrix” and “mediatrix of all graces”. These are facts that cannot be ignored if you love the truth more than your own opinions.”
Certainly there is no shortage of titles to address Maria…
«Tradition still offers many other important titles to the Marian devotion of Christians. For example, taking up the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, the Note forcefully proposes the title of Mother: Mary is “Mother”, Mother of Jesus, Mother of the Church and our Mother. In this title come together the whole reality of Mary’s salvific function and all the tenderness that we believers have for her.”
Fausta Speranza
In the photo: Titian’s Pentecost (Bridgeman)
