The kind of soft apostasy emanating regularly from the Vatican these days by players like the Doctrine of Faith’s prefect, Victor Cardinal Hernandez, who rather than vigorously defending doctrines seems more interested in wearing down resistance from those annoying, orthodox Catholics who stubbornly cling to the Faith of our Fathers. The latest example of this baleful phenomenon is the November 4 release of Mater Populi Fidelis, in which the oily prefect seems willing to denigrate the Mother of God by stripping away her titles as “Mediatrix of all Graces” as well as that of “Co-Redemptrix,” or at least banning their usage in ordinary theological dialogue. In a brazen exercise of faux-pietry the cardinal insists “the title of Co-Redemptrix risks eclipsing the exclusive role of Jesus Christ and would not be a true honor to his mother,” declaring it to be “inappropriate and theologically unhelpful.” This is classic Curial doublespeak, an art-form now fine tuned from previous documents such as Amoris Laetitia, Traditionis Custodis, Fratelli Tutti, Fiducia Supplicans and other dubious contributions of the “Francis papacy” designed more to muddy the waters than to contribute real clarity to difficult Church teachings.

Let me put it plainly as my long deceased spiritual mentor Fr. Thomas Kelly, S.J. often said, “Whoever honors the Mother honors the Son,” the obvious corollary being that one can never honor the Son by dishonoring his Mother. Again, Cardinal Fernandez goes on to proclaim that the title “Mediatrix of all Graces suggests a lack of solid grounding in Revelation and carries limits that do not favor a correct understanding of Mary’s unique place.'” So what then is Mary’s unique role in salvation history according to the Church’s teachings and traditions if we may be so bold as to ask the cardinal prefect? Co-Redemptrix after all is a title which goes back at least to the 15th century and has been affirmed by numerous popes and saints including Sts. John Henry Newman and Maxmilian Kolbe. Did these also share an incorrect understanding of Mary’s unique place?