VATICAN CITY, ROME — The Vatican’s highest doctrinal authority has issued a new decree, approved by Pope Leo, instructing the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics to cease referring to the Virgin Mary as the “co-redeemer” of the world.
The ruling decisively settles a theological debate that has long divided Church scholars and even fueled rare disagreements among recent pontiffs.
The new instruction emphatically states that Jesus alone saved the world, thereby rejecting the designation of Mary as a joint partner in the work of humanity’s redemption from damnation.
The official text explains the reasoning behind the prohibition:
“It would not be appropriate to use the title ‘co-redemptrix’,” said the text. “This title … (can) create confusion and an imbalance in the harmony of the truths of the Christian faith.”
For centuries, Church scholars have debated whether Mary, whom Catholics and many Christians revere as the Mother of God, played an active role alongside Jesus in saving the world—a belief Catholics hold was accomplished through his crucifixion and death.
Settling decades of Papal disagreement
The decree resolves a long-standing internal contention among senior Church figures:
- The Late Pope Francis, who died in April, fiercely opposed granting Mary the title, at one point calling the idea “foolishness.” In 2019, he stated: “She never wanted to take anything for herself from her son.”
- Pope Francis’ predecessor, Benedict XVI, also voiced opposition to the title.
- In contrast, Pope John Paul II had supported the title but reportedly ceased using it publicly in the mid-1990s after the doctrinal office began to express skepticism.
Mary’s role as intermediary
The new instruction does not diminish Mary’s central role but clarifies it as an intermediary function between God and humanity.
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The decree highlights that by giving birth to Jesus, she “opened the gates of the Redemption that all humanity had awaited.”
This role is rooted in her faithful acceptance of God’s will, symbolized by the biblical account of her response to the angel who told her she would become pregnant: “Let it be.”
