How Is this Dogma?

[Roman_Army]

**I’m a strong believer of Mary being Ever Virgin and that she had no relations before or after Jesus was born, so therefore had no other children. However, I can’t find any Church documents that proclaim that this is dogma. **

**Is this part of the deposit of faith and therefore must be believed? Is there any document out there (eg. Ecumenical Council or ex cathedra Papal Document)? **

Any Scriptural references that can be used to defend this doctrine against attacks?

 

[Catholic2003]

From the Catechism:

1. The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary’s real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man.(154) In fact, Christ’s birth “did not diminish his mother’s virginal integrity but sanctified it.”(155) And so the liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the “Ever-virgin”.(156)

(154): Cf. DS 291; 294; 427; 442; 503; 571; 1880.
(155): LG 57.
(156): Cf. LG 52.

 

[Montie_Claunch]

Roman_Army:

Any Scriptural references that can be used to defend this doctrine against attacks?

scripturecatholic.com/blessed_virgin_mary.html#the_bvm-IV
You might want to find some comentaries on this (like Scott Hans Hail Holy Queen, Good Book) but, this should give you bare bones look at it.

 

[bhlincoln]

**I’m a strong believer of Mary being Ever Virgin and that she had no relations before or after Jesus was born, so therefore had no other children. However, I can’t find any Church documents that proclaim that this is dogma. **

**Is this part of the deposit of faith and therefore must be believed? Is there any document out there (eg. Ecumenical Council or ex cathedra Papal Document)? **

Any Scriptural references that can be used to defend this doctrine against attacks?

Two parts to my answer:

1. Papal encyclicals like Sacra Virginitis (Pius XII) and others clearly discuss Our Lady’s virginity in depth. To say so is to say she did not have other children. These are dogmatic Church documents.
2. The next argument here is that we believe this because the Church tells us so, and the Church is our authority. For those who try and argue that the Church is not our authority, I provide arguments on my site here:
   protestanterrors.com/#5

BH