Pope Francis has once again created controversy and possible division with Catholics today with his off-the-cuff remarks regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary.
When seeking information on this subject, I found out that the pope has several times negatively commented on Mary's titled of Co-Redemptrix. There is an article from December 2019 from Crux, a Catholic publication, titled "Pope calls idea of declaring Mary co-redemptrix ‘foolishness’"
That was over a year ago. Now Pope Francis has made another comment on the subject saying: "Jesus entrusted the entire Church and all the faithful to Mary, but “as a mother. Not as a goddess. Not as a co-redemptrix. As a mother.” (Source: Crux Now)
So, what are we to make of all of this? In doing my research I found that Pope John Paul II spoke favorably of the title "Co-redemptrix", as did some other previous popes. However, Pope Benedict XVI cautioned against its use saying:
"...the formula “Co-redemptrix” departs to too great an extent from the language of Scripture and of the Fathers and therefore gives rise to misunderstandings. ...Everything comes from Him [Christ], as the Letter to the Ephesians and the Letter to the Colossians, in particular, tell us; Mary, too, is everything she is through Him. The word “Co-redemptrix” would obscure this origin. A correct intention being expressed in the wrong way." (Source: Wikipedia)
Interesting. I get where the nay-sayers are coming from. To many, the term co-redemptrix sounds like Mary and Jesus are equally responsible for our salvation, like they are working together. This is absolutely not Catholic teaching. Catholic theology states that we are saved through Jesus Christ alone, 100%. As Taylor Marshall pointed out today, even saying Jesus did 99.9% and Mary did 0.1% would be heretical.
So what does co-redemptrix mean? In my own terms, it means that Mary participated in a unique way to bring about salvation. In order for Jesus Christ to come into the world, we needed Mary's "yes" or "fiat". She maintained free will and God had specially selected Mary to be the Mother of God. It wasn't as if God would just go from one young woman to another until one said yes. Mary played a pivotal role in Jesus's life, and she is the closest person to Him in heaven. She is the Queen of Heaven.
To be fair to Pope Francis, I think what he is doing is trying to be very clear. I can see this whole issue being a sticking point with non-Catholic Christians and frankly some Catholics as well. Upon first hearing the term "co-redemptrix", it's natural to think of words such as "co-founder" or "co-operation" and see some kind of equality between the parties. So I can see the confusion.
However, I think the pope could do a better job of explaining what the term actually means when traditional and observant Catholics use it. The pope instead made it seem like they were just plain wrong. This is not the right way to treat faithful believers who perhaps use that term. He makes it seem like people who use "co-redemptrix" think that Mary is some kind of divine co-equal goddess, which would the heights of heresy.
I don't like how many of Pope Francis's comments seem to throw traditional Catholics under the bus. As if to say they can defend themselves. It always, to me, comes across as though Pope Francis wants to be liked by everyone except traditionalists.
Dr. Taylor Marshall has a pretty thorough treatment of this subject today. Worth checking out:
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