The Vatican, under a new decree approved by Pope Leo, has restricted several traditional titles used by Catholics for Mary, the mother of Jesus, asking them to stop using titles like “co-redemptrix” and “mediatrix”.
The Vatican has issued a new decree, approved by Pope Leo, tweaking various titles used by Catholics to describe Mary, the mother of Jesus, according to THE CABLE reporting. The move targets popular titles like “co-redemptrix” and “mediatrix,” stating that “only Jesus saved the world.”
The decree, issued Tuesday, stated that Mary only played a subordinate role in salvation. “Given the necessity of explaining Mary’s subordinate role to Christ in the work of Redemption, it is always inappropriate to use the title ‘Co-redemptrix’ to define Mary’s cooperation,” the text reads. The Vatican explained that this title “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.”
While acknowledging Mary’s real mediatory role in enabling Christ’s birth, the decree underscored that she played her part “in a clearly subordinate manner.” The Vatican noted that this position was not new, adding that the late Pope Francis had expressed “clear opposition to using the titles on at least three occasions.” Francis had once said: “Christ is the Mediator, the bridge that we cross to turn to the Father. He is the only Redeemer: there are no co-redeemers with Christ. He is the Mediator par excellence.” Francis had also previously described the idea of granting Mary the title of “co-redeemer” as “foolishness.”