The bishop of Oporto caused an international outcry last month after appearing to deny the Virgin Birth.
Bishop Manuel Linda appeared alongside progressive priest Fr Anselmo Borges in an article published just before Christmas by online newspaper Observador. In it, the two were asked about several issues, such as whether Jesus really was born on December 25 and in Bethlehem. At one point the article claimed that both the priest and the bishop agree that Mary did not remain perpetually a virgin.
However, in his only direct quotation on the subject in the article, the bishop talked specifically about the anatomical aspect of Mary’s virginity, saying this was not what mattered. “We should not speak of the physical virginity of Mary,” he said, adding that women who were not virgins could, in fact, be “more virginal, in the sense of giving themselves completely to God”.
