Cardinals Seeking Solemn Proclamation on Blessed Virgin

[sweetchuck]

This is an interesting bit of news on Catholic.org’s PR wire.

catholic.org/prwire/headline.php?ID=4521

Cardinals Initiate Worldwide Cardinal-Bishop Petition to Pope for the Proclamation of a Marian Dogma

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY

ITALY (FEBRUARY 8, 2008) - Cardinals Initiate Worldwide Cardinal-Bishop Petition to Pope Benedict XVI for the Proclamation of a Marian Dogma

Five cardinals have invited every cardinal and bishop in the world to join them in petitioning Pope Benedict XVI to solemnly proclaim the Mother of Jesus as the "Spiritual Mother of humanity” as an ecumenical service of clarification to other religious traditions and to proclaim the full Christian truth about Mary.

An English copy of the letter which the five cardinals sent to all the world’s cardinals and bishops in various languages on January 1, 2008, as well as a Latin “votum” or petition and its English translation has been released by His Eminence, Luis Cardinal Aponte Martínez, Fatima Symposium cardinal co-patron, with permission for publication (see below).

This initiative also intends to start an in-depth worldwide dialogue on Mary’s role in salvation for our time and builds upon the endorsement of over 500 Catholic cardinals and bishops for the petition for the definition of this potential fifth Marian dogma over the course of the past 15 years. Renowned contemporary Catholic leaders have also voiced their support, such as Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Mother Angelica, foundress of the worldwide Eternal Word Television Network, along with approximately 7 million petitions from Catholics worldwide.

 

[sweetchuck]

cont’d

…

English Copy of Letter Sent to the World’s Cardinals and Bishops

January 1, 2008
Solemnity of the Mother of God

Dear Brother Eminences and Excellencies:

In May 2005, we, as cardinal co-patrons, sponsored a Mariological symposium convened on the subject of the cooperation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the work of human Redemption at the favored Fatima shrine in Portugal.

After extensive theological presentations delivered by a significant number of cardinals, bishops, and theologians, we concluded the symposium by enacting a votum to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. The votum reads as follows:

Your Holiness, Benedict XVI,

In an effort to enhance the ecumenical mission of the Church, and to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all its fullness, we, the undersigned cardinals and bishops who have convened in the favored Marian Shrine of Fatima (May 3-7, 2005), wish to express to you, Most Holy Father, our united hope and desire for the solemn papal definition of the doctrine of the Church regarding Mary Most Holy as the Spiritual Mother of all humanity, the Co-redemptrix with Jesus the Redeemer, Mediatrix of all graces with Jesus the one Mediator, and Advocate with Jesus Christ on behalf of the human race.

In a time of significant confusion amidst the many diverse ecclesial bodies of Christianity, and as well among non-Christian peoples concerning this Marian doctrine, we believe the time opportune for a solemn definition of clarification regarding the constant teaching of the Church concerning the Mother of the Redeemer and her unique cooperation (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 61) in the work of Redemption, as well as her subsequent roles in the distribution of grace and intercession for the human family.

It is of great importance, Holy Father, that peoples of other religious traditions receive the clarification on the highest level of authentic doctrinal certainty that we can provide, that the Catholic Church essentially distinguishes between the sole role of Jesus Christ, divine and human Redeemer of the world, and the unique though secondary and dependent human participation of the Mother of Christ in the great work of Redemption.

Therefore, Your Holiness, with filial obedience and respect, we wish to present you with this votum of our solidarity of hope for the papal definition of the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God as the spiritual Mother of all peoples in her three maternal roles as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces and Advocate, as the ultimate expression of doctrinal clarity at the service of our Christian and non-Christian brothers and sisters who are not in communion with Rome, and as well as for the greater understanding and appreciation of this revealed doctrine concerning the Mother of the Redeemer by the People of God at the outset of this third millennium of Christianity.

We thereby submit this votum accompanied by one possible formulation of the Marian doctrine which we, please God, pray may be solemnly defined by your Holiness:

Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of man, gave to humanity from the Cross his mother Mary to be the spiritual Mother of all peoples, the Co-redemptrix, who under and with her Son cooperated in the Redemption of all people; the Mediatrix of all graces, who as Mother brings us the gifts of eternal life; and the Advocate, who presents our prayers to her Son.

On June 7, 2006, our brother, Telesphore Cardinal Toppo, presented the above votum in Latin to His Holiness on behalf of all the cardinal and bishop participants at the 2005 Fatima Symposium, together with the published acta from the symposium. The Holy Father received the votum and the acta with an accentuated gratitude and his expressed intention to study carefully the acta.

We now write to you, brother cardinals and bishops, to inform you of this votum for the solemn definition of Our Lady as the Spiritual Mother of humanity and its essential roles, and respectfully request your own prayerful consideration regarding the possibility of adding your own esteemed assent to this votum to Our Holy Father. We have enclosed a copy of the original Latin votum for your examination and, if you felt so inspired by Our Lady, you would be free to sign and to forward it on to His Holiness.

Certainly, if it so pleased the Holy Father to proceed with this request, any final formation of the definition would in no manner be bound to the formulation of the enclosed votum, but rather left entirely to his unique charism as the Successor of Peter. It is also noteworthy that over the course of the past fifteen years, over 500 bishops have sent their request for this solemn definition to the Holy See, along with approximately 7 million petitions from the Catholic faithful worldwide.

We thank you for your prayerful consideration of this request on behalf of Our Lady, Mother of the Church and Queen of the Apostles. May she guide you in your discernment of this matter to the wisdom of Jesus Christ, our divine Redeemer, through the counsel of the Holy Spirit, all leading to the fulfillment of the perfect will of our Heavenly Father.

With cordial best wishes in Jesus and Mary,

Telesphore Cardinal Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi, India; President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India
Luis Cardinal Aponte Martínez, Archbishop Emeritus of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil, Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, India
Riccardo Cardinal Vidal, Archbishop of Cebu, Philippines
Ernesto Cardinal Corrippio Ahumada, Primate Emeritus of Mexico

Cardinal Co-sponsors of the Fatima Symposium on Marian Coredemption

 

[twf]

It’s already a matter of Catholic faith, and as far as I know not disputed, so I don’t see the need for a solemn proclamation of dogma.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!

 

[sweetchuck]

Here is a recent Zenit article:
zenit.org/article-21749?l=english

ROME, FEB. 11, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Five cardinals have sent a letter inviting prelates worldwide to join them in petitioning Benedict XVI to declare a fifth Marian dogma they said would “proclaim the full Christian truth about Mary.” The text, released last week, includes the petition that asks the Pope to proclaim Mary as “the Spiritual Mother of All Humanity, the co-redemptrix with Jesus the redeemer, mediatrix of all graces with Jesus the one mediator, and advocate with Jesus Christ on behalf of the human race.”
The signatories of the letter are five of the six cardinal co-sponsors of the 2005 International Symposium on Marian Coredemption, held in Fatima: Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, archbishop of Ranchi, India; Cardinal Luis Aponte Martínez, retired archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico; Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, India; Cardinal Riccardo Vidal, archbishop of Cebu, Philippines; and Cardinal Ernesto Corripio y Ahumada, retired archbishop of Mexico City.
Cardinal Edouard Gagnon, who died last August, was the sixth cardinal co-sponsor of the 2005 conference. He was the president of the Pontifical Council of the Family from 1974 until he resigned in 1990.
The secretariat of the five cardinal co-patrons released the English translation of the letter, which includes a translation and the original Latin text of the “votum,” or petition, that was formulated in 2005 and presented formally to the Pope by Cardinal Telesphore in 2006.
The petition states: “We believe the time opportune for a solemn definition of clarification regarding the constant teaching of the Church concerning the Mother of the Redeemer and her unique cooperation in the work of Redemption, as well as her subsequent roles in the distribution of grace and intercession for the human family.”
Ecumenism
Pointing to ecumenical concerns, the petition continues: “It is of great importance …] that people of other religious traditions receive the clarification on the highest level of authentic doctrinal certainty that we can provide, that the Catholic Church essentially distinguishes between the sole role of Jesus Christ, divine and human Redeemer of the world, and the unique though secondary and dependent human participation of the Mother of Christ in the great work of Redemption.”
The text adds that the move would be “the ultimate expression of doctrinal clarity at the service of our Christian and non-Christian brothers and sisters who are not in communion with Rome.”
In a press statement released along with the letter, the cardinal co-sponsors reiterated the same ecumenical concern and said the proclamation of a fifth Marian dogma would be a “service of clarification to other religious traditions and to proclaim the full Christian truth about Mary.”
The statement added, “This initiative also intends to start an in-depth worldwide dialogue on Mary’s role in salvation for our time. …] Should this effort prove successful, a proclamation would constitute a historical event for the Church as only the fifth Marian dogma defined in its 2,000-year history.”
Cardinal Aponte Martínez, one of the cardinal co-patrons said: "I believe the time is now for the papal definition of the relationship of the Mother of Jesus to the each one of us, her earthly children, in her roles as co-redemptrix, mediatrix of all graces and advocate.
“To solemnly proclaim Mary as the spiritual mother of all peoples is to fully and officially recognize her titles, and consequently to activate, to bring to new life the spiritual, intercessory functions they offer the Church for the new evangelization, and for humanity in our serious present world situation.”

 

[sweetchuck]

It’s already a matter of Catholic faith, and as far as I know not disputed, so I don’t see the need for a solemn proclamation of dogma.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!

This teaching is actually heatedly opposed by Protestants. In fact, when Lumen Gentium came out, even though the word Co-redemptrix was not used, the theology of Mary Co-redemptrix was very present in the conciliar text (see, LG 54, 56, 58, 61, The Rhine Flows Into the Tiber). Many theologians have overemphasized ecumenism to the point that this doctrine is not even taught among Catholics. So though I recognize the truth in your quote that this is an already a matter of Catholic faith, it is an overtly repressed teaching of the faith. Imagine if we repressed our teaching on justification because of Protestant objections the way we have repressed our doctrine of our most Holy Mother. Generations of Catholics would grow up not being able to articulate this fundamental truth. Sadly, this has been the case with our Blessed Mother. There are real movements of opposition against this doctrine.

 

[cathgal]

This teaching is actually heatedly opposed by Protestants. In fact, when Lumen Gentium came out, even though the word Co-redemptrix was not used, the theology of Mary Co-redemptrix was very present in the conciliar text (see, LG 54, 56, 58, 61, The Rhine Flows Into the Tiber). Many theologians have overemphasized ecumenism to the point that this doctrine is not even taught among Catholics. So though I recognize the truth in your quote that this is an already a matter of Catholic faith, it is an overtly repressed teaching of the faith. Imagine if we repressed our teaching on justification because of Protestant objections the way we have repressed our doctrine of our most Holy Mother. Generations of Catholics would grow up not being able to articulate this fundamental truth. Sadly, this has been the case with our Blessed Mother. There are real movements of opposition against this doctrine.

So what if the Protestants opposed. That’s their problem. It shouldn’t stop us from proclaiming the truth.

 

[Genesis315]

I read another article on this and the cardinals said it would actually help dialogue with Protestants by precisely defining our understanding of her in salvation history–something they tend to exaggerate a lot.

 

[CentralFLJames]

For over 2,000 years God has been pruning His Church of the wild heretical offshoots to reinvigorate and shape Her. The buds of flowering truth present in Marian Doctrine clearly distinguish the living branch from its whithering clippings. It is Divine Providence that those who attach themselves to the felled clippings must cry as Mother Church gathers Her own to herself. She can’t avoid nor take joy in crushing under foot that which drops beneath her. But God will not let The Church suffer the abuse of wild branches that suckle greedily to deprive the flowering fruit of Truth. By the flower which blooms God reveals the True Branch which draws from the tap-root of Life.

Let those who cry that Marian Doctrine alienates them learn to embrace and honor their mother; or let them be weened off the idea that God would ever permit His Church to be a wet nurse to children He can’t recognize as His own.

James

 

[cathgal]

For over 2,000 years God has been pruning His Church of the wild heretical offshoots to reinvigorate and shape Her. The buds of flowering truth present in Marian Doctrine clearly distinguish the living branch from its whithering clippings. It is Divine Providence that those who attach themselves to the felled clippings must cry as Mother Church gathers Her own to herself. She can’t avoid nor take joy in crushing under foot that which drops beneath her. But God will not let The Church suffer the abuse of wild branches that suckle greedily to deprive the flowering fruit of Truth. By the flower which blooms God reveals the True Branch which draws from the tap-root of Life.

Do you realize what kind of imagery you created here?

Your wording? :nun1:

 

[CentralFLJames]

Do you realize what kind of imagery you created here?

Your wording? :nun1:

You tell me what it is that you think is created here and I will tell you if I created it or just described what I see.

James

 

[cathgal]

You tell me what it is that you think is created here and I will tell you if I created it or just described what I see.

James

A beautiful tree w/ lots of leaves and flowers ?

 

[CentralFLJames]

A beautiful tree w/ lots of leaves and flowers ?

Yes, its a beautiful tree that through the flower of a Marian Dogma would fully distinguish The Church from the legion of scripture-only sects out there that look similar to The Church but flat out reject Marian Dogma. These other false churches in their conspicuous plurality have attempted through fiat to claim that they are “The Catholic Church” and the “Roman Catholic Church” with its allegiance to Rome and its commitment to the authority of the infallible papal succession and its teachings, traditions and sacraments is the impostor. Establishment of Marian Dogma completely severs and crushes (Gen 3:15 “she shall crush thy head”) the heresy that has tried to parasitically enjoin itself to The Catholic Church through the legion of errors extending out of private scripture interpretation. Just as God removes every branch that does not bear fruit and prunes every branch that bears fruit (John 15:2) so to does God separates from His Church those wild cults that call themselves Christian yet refuse to conform to The Church and Her Teaching.

Formal establishment of Marian Dogma is anathema to many non-Catholic sects since they made an early decision to reject Marian doctrine and actively chose to use The Catholic Church’s teaching and veneration of Mary as a key point of separation. That was a fatal flaw since many of us Catholics believe that Jesus in order to honor his mother and repair the affronts and injuries to Her caused by such heretics has granted Mary a special mission to crush all heresies in His Church. I becomes Divine Justice that the Marian doctrine which heretical sects despised and abhorred is to be the very same thing that defeats and puts these down.

James

 

[sweetchuck]

Additionally, Zenit and Vatican Information Services have reported that on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the president of the pontifical council for health and pastoral care, Cardinal Lozano Barragan, offered the following remarks:

“In order to respond to the full love of the cross”, said Cardinal Lozano, we must pronounce “an unreserved ‘yes’ to the mysterious plan of the Redeemer, a ‘yes’ that means fullness of Love. This complete ‘yes’ of love is the Immaculate Conception of our dear Mother, Mary”, who participated “on Calvary as the co-redeemer of the Saviour. … Christ on the cross suffered all the pains that his Most Holy Mother suffered. And she in Christ suffers all our pains, she assumes them and knows how to commiserate with us. Out suffering is also her suffering.”

(italics: my emphasis)

212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/a6_en.htm

and

zenit.org/article-21753?l=english

This is a rare word to come from pontifical officials until recently. One cannot help but wonder if there is a connection between the petition drive of the fatima symposium cardinals.

 

[revelations]

Yes, its a beautiful tree that through the flower of a Marian Dogma would fully distinguish The Church from the legion of scripture-only sects out there that look similar to The Church but flat out reject Marian Dogma. These other false churches in their conspicuous plurality have attempted through fiat to claim that they are “The Catholic Church” and the “Roman Catholic Church” with its allegiance to Rome and its commitment to the authority of the infallible papal succession and its teachings, traditions and sacraments is the impostor. Establishment of Marian Dogma completely severs and crushes (Gen 3:15 “she shall crush thy head”) the heresy that has tried to parasitically enjoin itself to The Catholic Church through the legion of errors extending out of private scripture interpretation. Just as God removes every branch that does not bear fruit and prunes every branch that bears fruit (John 15:2) so to does God separates from His Church those wild cults that call themselves Christian yet refuse to conform to The Church and Her Teaching.

Formal establishment of Marian Dogma is anathema to many non-Catholic sects since they made an early decision to reject Marian doctrine and actively chose to use The Catholic Church’s teaching and veneration of Mary as a key point of separation. That was a fatal flaw since many of us Catholics believe that Jesus in order to honor his mother and repair the affronts and injuries to Her caused by such heretics has granted Mary a special mission to crush all heresies in His Church. I becomes Divine Justice that the Marian doctrine which heretical sects despised and abhorred is to be the very same thing that defeats and puts these down.

James

Solid.

I really liked reading that. I think i’ll go read it again…Yup, solid again. I could never understand why people dont like the blessed Mother so much…now it makes much more sense.

 

[CentralFLJames]

Solid.

I really liked reading that. I think i’ll go read it again…Yup, solid again. I could never understand why people dont like the blessed Mother so much…now it makes much more sense.

Thanks revelations. I love your signature photo showing Christ teaching about the kingdom with His hand extended up. That is one of my favorites and one that I use in my rosary meditations during the Luminous Mystery.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

If people knew even a fraction of what The Blessed Mary’s intercessions are gaining for humanity, the souls in purgatory and for the souls of aborted children and the Mercy her intercessions are winning in holding back God’s chastising wrath everyone would be tempted to fall prostrate and worship her. But that would offend her since she is a created human being just like us. She would instead have us kneel to Her Divine Son and then join us side by side in prayer as our Spiritual Mother.

God Bless,
James

 

[Like]

Solid.

I really liked reading that. I think i’ll go read it again…Yup, solid again. I could never understand why people dont like the blessed Mother so much…now it makes much more sense.

Yep! I say solid too!
Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us!

 

[inthecloud]

In my opinion is a terrible idea and I hope that B16 follows JP2 and reject it, this time in a more definitive way.
Dogma by letter writing is not a good idea.

 

[sweetchuck]

In my opinion is a terrible idea and I hope that B16 follows JP2 and reject it, this time in a more definitive way.
Dogma by letter writing is not a good idea.

Millions of petitions were sent in for the proclamation of the dogma of the Assumption before it definition in 1950. In that case, the petitions were the work of the Holy Spirit, it is a movement of the sensus fidei (the sense of the faithful). Millions of petitions have already been sent in on this topic. See Pope Pius XII’s very words on this topic from the dogmatic definition of the Assumption:

From Munificentissimus Deus:

1. Thus, when it was solemnly proclaimed that Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, was from the very beginning free from the taint of original sin, the minds of the faithful were filled with a stronger hope that the day might soon come when the dogma of the Virgin Mary’s bodily Assumption into heaven would also be defined by the Church’s supreme teaching authority.
2. Actually it was seen that not only individual Catholics, but also those who could speak for nations or ecclesiastical provinces, and even a considerable number of the Fathers of the Vatican Council, urgently petitioned the Apostolic See to this effect.
3. During the course of time such postulations and petitions did not decrease but rather grew continually in number and in urgency. In this cause there were pious crusades of prayer. Many outstanding theologians eagerly and zealously carried out investigations on this subject either privately or in public ecclesiastical institutions and in other schools where the sacred disciplines are taught. Marian Congresses, both national and international in scope, have been held in many parts of the Catholic world. These studies and investigations have brought out into even clearer light the fact that the dogma of the Virgin Mary’s Assumption into heaven is contained in the deposit of Christian faith entrusted to the Church. They have resulted in many more petitions, begging and urging the Apostolic See that this truth be solemnly defined.
4. In this pious striving, the faithful have been associated in a wonderful way with their own holy bishops, who have sent petitions of this kind, truly remarkable in number, to this See of the Blessed Peter. Consequently, when we were elevated to the throne of the supreme pontificate, petitions of this sort had already been addressed by the thousands from every part of the world and from every class of people, from our beloved sons the Cardinals of the Sacred College, from our venerable brethren, archbishops and bishops, from dioceses and from parishes.

 

[jimmy]

Millions of petitions were sent in for the proclamation of the dogma of the Assumption before it definition in 1950. In that case, the petitions were the work of the Holy Spirit, it is a movement of the sensus fidei (the sense of the faithful). Millions of petitions have already been sent in on this topic. See Pope Pius XII’s very words on this topic from the dogmatic definition of the Assumption:

There are about 1.1 billion Catholics. A few million is not an accurate sense of the faithful especially since it ignores those who are opposed.

I agree with inthecloud; dogma by letter writing is not a good idea.

 

[sweetchuck]

There are about 1.1 billion Catholics. A few million is not an accurate sense of the faithful especially since it ignores those who are opposed.

I agree with inthecloud; dogma by letter writing is not a good idea.

Did you read what I quoted from the Dogmatic proclamation of the Dogma of the Assumption? Pope Pius XII wrote of the great influence of the millions of petitions. And the Dogma of the Assumption was not “dogma by letter writing,” there were a great many factors that went into it. There have been like factors in the movement for this dogmatic definition. Continuing the Assumption comparison, the Assumption was already Church doctrine, as is the teaching on Mary Co-redemptrix.

So what I’m understanding from this is that when Pope Pius XII took into account the millions of petitions from the Catholic faithful, that wasn’t a good idea on the pope’s part? I disagree and I think that Pope Pius XII did the right thing for the sake of the truth.

And statistically speaking, several million is by no means a small number. In fact, it is a large sample size. Additionally, for every one who writes, there is an unknown number who would be in support but do not write, or do not have the means to write (as among poorer and less educated Catholics).