"A decree from the Vatican's doctrinal office approved by the pontiff says Jesus alone saved humanity from hellfire and therefore Catholics must not call Mary the co-redeemer or co-redemptrix, ending a long-running debate among church scholars that has even divided popes. It says Jesus saved the world through his sacrificial death on the cross and that while Mary paved the way for the redemption by giving birth to him, she was not a co-redeemer."
"The late Pope Francis was vehemently against calling Mary a co-redeemer, saying in 2019 that it was foolishness because she never wanted take anything for herself from her son. His predecessor Benedict XVI also opposed the title. John Paul II, the pope from 1978 to his death in 2005, was a proponent but stopped using the title publicly in the mid-1990s amid growing scepticism."
"According to the decree, the title creates confusion and an imbalance in the harmony of the truths of the Christian faith and carries the risk of eclipsing the exclusive role of Jesus Christ. Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, the prefect of the Vatican's doctrinal office, wrote in a preface to the decree that it was a response to questions in recent years about devotion to Mary and to clarify what is acceptable."
The Vatican's doctrinal office issued a decree, approved by the pontiff, declaring that Jesus alone saved humanity from hellfire and that Mary must not be called the co-redeemer or co-redemptrix. The decree affirms that Jesus redeemed the world through his sacrificial death on the cross while Mary, though she paved the way by giving birth to him, did not share in redemption as a co-redeemer. The text warns that the title risks creating confusion, upsetting doctrinal harmony, and eclipsing Christ's exclusive role. The decree responds to recent intense Marian devotions, social-media-fuelled claims, and requests for new dogmas, and aims to clarify acceptable practice.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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