Three weeks after the publication of Mater Populi Fidelis ignited widespread debate over Marian doctrine, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández moved to clarify the most controversial line of the document.
Cardinal Fernandez spoke to Vaticanista Diana Montagna and clarified regarding the declaration that it is “always inappropriate” to use the title “Co-Redemptrix” to describe Mary’s cooperation in the work of Redemption.
Speaking on Tuesday, 25 November, following the Vatican press conference for Una Caro, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) insisted that the declaration was never intended as a blanket condemnation of earlier saints, theologians, or popes who have used the term.
Instead, he said, the adverb “always” refers exclusively to official Church usage from this point forward.
According to the cardinal, the decision represents the culmination of decades of internal study. He pointed to a process initiated under Pope John Paul II – who, he noted, “occasionally used ‘Co-Redemptrix’” – before requesting a formal theological review from Cardinal Ratzinger.
After that study concluded, Fernández said, John Paul II “didn’t use it anymore”, though he retained the substance of the doctrine by continuing to emphasise Mary’s cooperation in salvation history.
The new document, he explained, follows this trajectory by preserving the positive aspects of the doctrine while discouraging a term that, in the DDF’s view, risks pastoral confusion today.
He stressed repeatedly that the Church is not asking the faithful to abandon the title in personal devotion or informed theological discussion. Rather, the restriction applies solely to official use, meaning the title will not appear “either in the liturgy in the official documents of the Holy See”.
Those who understand the traditional meaning of “Co-Redemptrix”, he added, are free to continue using it privately if they wish.
The clarification comes amid significant criticism from theologians and Mariologists, some of whom argue that Mater Populi Fidelis lacks sufficient theological grounding and does not adequately reflect long-standing Marian tradition.
Questions have also been raised regarding whether the Dicastery consulted specialists in Mariology during the drafting process. While Cardinal Fernández maintains that “many, many” experts were involved, Fr. Maurizio Gronchi, a Christologist who presented the document alongside him, told ACI Prensa that “no collaborating Mariologists could be found”.
The debate has continued to intensify, with Bishop Athanasius Schneider and other prelates such as Bishop Robertus Mutsaerts publicly defending the traditional Marian titles and urging the faithful not to interpret the DDF’s language as a repudiation of long-held doctrine.
The debate over Mater Populi Fidelis is not merely about a single Marian title, but about the Church’s confidence in its own theological heritage.
Beneath the surface lies a question that touches doctrine, devotion and the interpretation of tradition: can the Church restrict venerable language without seeming to diminish what previous saints and popes have taught?
Catholics have always known that what the Church says of Mary inevitably reveals what she believes about Christ and about the human person redeemed by Him. When a title like “Co-Redemptrix” is declared “always inappropriate” in official usage, the question is not only lexical; it signals what the Church believes is intelligible and pastorally fruitful in a fractured age.
The Church’s Marian vocabulary has never been accidental. It is a theological grammar formed by centuries of prayer, papal teaching and the meditations of saints. To adjust that grammar is no small act.
Cardinal Fernández insists that Mater Populi Fidelis “isn’t meant to judge” past usage, rather it bars the term “Co-Redemptrix” from magisterial texts.
His clarification that “from now on” the term “Co-Redemptrix” will not appear “either in the liturgy… or in the official documents of the Holy See” attempts to draw a bright line between doctrine and terminology. Yet words shape how doctrine is received. A restricted word inevitably narrows our theological understanding.
For decades the Church has wrestled with how best to articulate Mary’s cooperation without overshadowing Christ’s unique mediation. John Paul II asked Cardinal Ratzinger to study the issue; the CDF responded cautiously but never repudiated the substance behind the title.
Indeed, John Paul II himself used “Co-Redemptrix” until that study’s conclusion, after which, as Cardinal Fernández notes, “he didn’t use it anymore” while “conserving the positive aspects of the content”.
The new document claims to do the same. But many theologians argue that Mater Populi Fidelis does not so much clarify as flatten. The cardinal asserted that the document expresses “200 times” the “unique cooperation of Mary in the work of redemption”.
But the point is surely not about repetition. The real issue is precision and how does the declaration describe this cooperation? Does it illuminate Mary’s participation at the foot of the Cross, or does it blur what saints and popes have long emphasised?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider has observed that it cannot be that “the Church’s saints, doctors, and popes have for centuries led the faithful astray” in employing titles that were never intended to rival Christ but to magnify His grace in His Mother.
RELATED: Vatican formally rejects use of title ‘Co-Redemptrix’ in new Marian document
Photo: Argentine cardinal and Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith Victor Manuel Fernandez presides over the sixth Novemdiales Mass held for the late Pope Francis in St. Peters Basilica, Rome, Italy, 1 May 2025 (Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)
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