Calling Mary "Co-redemptrix" risks diminishing the work of Christ, Roman Catholics are being told.
The warning is given in an official RC document described as a "doctrinal note on some Marian titles regarding Mary's co-operation in the work of salvation". It has been produced by the "Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith", a Vatican department established in 1542 to promote religious discipline in matters of faith and doctrine.
The paper also says using the term "Mediatrix" for Mary needs "special prudence" since "the Biblical statement about Christ's exclusive mediation is conclusive".
But it upholds traditional Roman Catholic teaching about Mary in many ways that evangelicals will view as incompatible with the plain teaching of Scripture.
Mater
The official title of the teaching statement is "Mater Populi Fidelis", Latin for "the mother of the faithful people of God". It was signed off by Pope Leo XIV last month, Catholic news organisations report.
The document says using the title "Co-redemptrix" in relation to Mary "risks obscuring Christ’s unique salvific mediation and can therefore create confusion and an imbalance in the harmony of the truths of the Christian faith, for 'there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved' (Acts 4v12)."
Furthermore, it "carries the risk of eclipsing the exclusive role of Jesus Christ — the Son of God made man for our salvation, who was the only one capable of offering the Father a sacrifice of infinite value".
In relation to the title "Mediatrix", Mater Populi Fidelis says: "The Biblical statement about Christ’s exclusive mediation is conclusive. Christ is the only Mediator, 'for there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all' (1 Tim 2v5-6).
"The Church has clarified this unique place of Christ in light of the fact that he is the eternal and infinite Son of God, hypostatically united with the humanity he assumed. This is exclusive to Christ’s humanity, and the consequences that derive from it can only be properly applied to him. In this precise sense, the Incarnate Word’s role is exclusive and unique."
Participation
At the same time, the document reiterates traditional Catholic teaching in many ways. Mary, it states, is the "mother of believers", declaring: "Mary’s spiritual motherhood springs from her physical motherhood of the Son of God. By physically bearing Christ — through her free, believing acceptance of that mission — Mary also, in faith, gave birth to all Christians who are members of the Mystical Body of Christ. In other words, she gave birth to the total Christ: Head and members."
It also states that Mary "accompanies our prayers from heaven with her maternal intercession," adding: "Among those chosen and glorified with Christ, first and foremost is his Mother. Therefore, we can affirm that Mary has a unique collaboration in the saving work that Christ carries out in his Church. With this intercession, Mary can become for us a motherly sign of the Lord’s mercy."
Mary offers "maternal closeness", the report says: "The various Marian invocations, images, and shrines show Mary’s true motherhood, which draws near to the lives of her children... That experience of Mary’s maternal affection... is the personal experience of all Christians who receive Mary’s affection and place 'their daily necessities' into her hands, trustfully opening 'their hearts to implore her motherly intercession and obtain her reassuring protection.'"
Life of grace
"Beyond the extraordinary manifestations of her closeness, there are constant and daily expressions of her motherhood in the lives of all her children. Even when we do not request her intercession, she shows herself near to us as a Mother to help us recognize the Father’s love, to contemplate Christ’s saving self-gift, and to receive the Spirit’s sanctifying action."
And it states: "The life of grace includes our relationship with Christ’s Mother, for our union with Christ by grace also entails union with Mary in a relationship of trust, tenderness, and wholehearted affection."
The full statement can be read here. en columnist Leonardo De Chirico writes regularly about Roman Catholicism from an evangelical perspective here. He is pastor of the evangelical church Breccia di Roma and Director of the Reformanda Initiative (www.reformandainitiative.org) which equips evangelical leaders to engage with Roman Catholicism to communicate the gospel.
