Why Mary? Why Now?

At a time when the civilization once known as Christendom is near collapse, when attacks on human dignity and human life are accelerating, surely there are more urgent problems requiring the attention of our Church leaders.

So now we see the price that the Catholic Church must pay for the years of confusion over matters of doctrine during the reign of Pope Francis. When the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) publishes a statement, designed to clarify the proper language to use in praise of the Virgin Mary, faithful Catholics—who in the past would have carefully heeded such a cautionary note from the Vatican’s top doctrinal body—see the document as an offense against piety and a betrayal of the perennial tradition.

On its face, Mater Populi Fidelis, the document released by the DDF this week, would seem to be devoted to a somewhat arcane issue, of interest mainly to theologians. The vast majority of Catholics were unaware of the controversy surrounding the use of the title “Co-Redemptrix” to honor the Virgin. That title had been used for generations, by saints and scholars and popes, without causing any noticeable distress among the faithful. But in recent years a small cadre of Marian scholars has pushed for the Church to give formal recognition to the title. And for some reason, in this season of uncertainty, the DDF decided to respond to those pleas, in the negative.

Full disclosure: I myself have never been quite comfortable with the title “Co-Redemptrix.” The prefix “co-” can suggest equality. If I am “co-owner” of a house, that suggests that someone else has equal title; if I am “co-author” of a book, that means I did not write the book alone. But Jesus wrought our salvation by his Sacrifice alone. As the DDF document rightly remarks, Mary “was herself redeemed by Christ and transformed by the Spirit, prior to any possible action of her own.”

Properly understood, of course, the term “Co-Redemptrix” refers to the Virgin Mary’s powerful role in cooperating in the work of redemption, which is the work of her Divine Son. But the title could be a stumbling block to some people, particularly to Protestants who are leery of Marian devotion. In 1996, while serving as prefect of what was then the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger warned that the title “gives rise to misunderstandings.”

”Yet,” as Vatican correspondent Delia Gallagher noted, “Ratzinger in more than 30 years at the Vatican, never thought it fit to publish a Nota against Mary as Co-Redemptrix. Given Joseph Ratzinger’s attention to doctrinal correctness, we should ask why.”

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