In light of the publication of the Note from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on certain Marian titles, which states that the title of Co-Redemptrix is “inopportune” at the present moment, I do not intend to argue, because the Most Holy Virgin does not need controversies; but rather to share a certain astonishment.
The note, approved by the Holy Father, seems quite acceptable to me in terms of its methodology and the arguments presented, although it grates on me that it deems inopportune a Marian title born of love, not of confusion. The Church has never used the term Co-Redemptrix to place Mary on the same level as Christ, the only Redeemer, but to confess simultaneously two luminous truths: that Christ is the only Savior and that the Virgin, by divine will, was associated in a singular and unique way with the work of redemption. Calling her Co-Redemptrix does not diminish Christ: it exalts the efficacy of his Redemption and helps to contemplate with awe how far grace can reach in a creature who allows herself to be fully possessed by God. That is why so many saints, theologians, and pontiffs spoke of this title with love and theological finesse. Should it be discouraged today? Frankly, I do not know. However, I concede: possibly yes. Moreover: perhaps there is a childishness in the feeling that this impoverishes filial love for Mary. However… is this the most “inopportune” thing to point out today? Have there not been other facts and decisions much more disconcerting in recent years? Let us cite only some of the most salient ones:
1. The word co-redemptrix offends no one. Yes, it does to call “rosary-counters,” “pickles in vinegar,” or “rigid” those who live their faith with devotion or love the liturgical tradition.
2. Not a few episcopal appointments and positions of government in the Holy See, a priori concerning due to the doctrinal and/or pastoral trajectory of those chosen, and a posteriori, regrettable.
3. The homage in the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican to Luther, the heresiarch who originated the most painful rupture in Christendom.
4. The ritualized presence and veneration of Pachamama in the Vatican, idolatry incompatible with the worship due to the one God, One and Triune.
5. The restriction of the traditional liturgy (a source of holiness for generations of the faithful yesterday and today), falsifying the arguments on which it was based.
6. The ecclesial management during the pandemic, closing churches for months, depriving the faithful of the sacraments and imposing Communion in the hand.
7. The Declaration of Abu Dhabi, interpretable as a certain equating of all religions as similar paths to God, thereby weakening evangelization.
8. The admission of those who live objectively in adultery to Holy Communion, presenting the state of grace in a gradual manner.
9. The agreements with the government of Peking on the appointment of bishops, leaving numerous Chinese Catholics—persecuted for decades out of fidelity to Rome—deeply desolate, feeling that part of the Church’s freedom was being ceded to a power hostile to the faith.
10. The Declaration Fiducia supplicans, perceived by countless faithful and pastors as gravely serious, for exhorting the blessing of situations objectively contrary to the Law of God, derived from “sins that cry out to heaven,” according to Sacred Scripture.
Many Catholics would have expected a clear word on any of these situations before a warning regarding a Marian title so beloved by the People of God. Because Mary never divides: she always leads to Christ. History teaches that every time the Church delved deeper into Mary’s privileges, it did so to proclaim more forcefully the truth about Christ. Authentic Mariology never obscures Christ; on the contrary, it reveals him more purely.
What profit is there now in reducing or discouraging Marian expressions that so many saints have used to go to the Only Savior and Redeemer?
The faithful need pastors who confirm them in the faith and console them in confusion. Today, when so many no longer believe in sin or hell, in sanctifying grace, in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, or in eternal life, is the immediate concern to point out the inopportuneness of the title of Co-Redemptrix?
Mary has always protected the Church. Let us ask her today for this grace, as Mater Ecclesiæ. Co-Redemptrix or Mediatrix? At this moment, I am not too concerned whether both words are more or less opportune; I would be worried if they were heretical, or foolish, which is even worse, like those we hear all too frequently, without being corrected.