Recent Positive Developments Toward the Fifth Marian Dogma

In honor of the Feast of the Birth of Our Lady, and as we approach the September 15 Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, we wish to dedicate this issue to the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Co-redemptrix of the human race and the question of the potential solemn definition of our Immaculate Mother as the Co-redemptrix and her consequential roles as Mediatrix of all graces and Advocate for humanity.

In May 2007, tens of thousands of Catholic faithful throughout the world send new petitions to our beloved Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, requesting him to prayerfully consider proclaiming Our Lady as the Spiritual Mother of All Peoples, the Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces, and Advocate.

This new petition drive to our present Holy Father originated, appropriately enough, in the German-speaking countries of Europe (particularly Germany and Switzerland), and then spread to the Philippines, India, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the United States. This new abundance of petitions, combined with the approximately 7 million petitions submitted to the Holy See during the past twelve years, constitute one of the largest petition drives in Catholic Church history. The two previous Marian dogmas, the Immaculate Conception in 1854 and the Assumption in 1950, likewise experienced petition drives from the world’s faithful (sensus fidelium) before the climactic solemn definitions took place by Bl. Pius IX and Pius XII respectively.

Also during this past May, numerous cardinals and bishops from many different countries sent personal letters to His Holiness, Pope Benedict, in which they requested our Holy Father to declare the fifth Marian Dogma. For example, Bishop Filomeno Bactol of the Diocese of Naval, Philippines, writes:

Archbishop Michael Augustine from Diocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore, India, communicates the following to Pope Benedict:

Bishop Jesus Valera from the Diocese of Sorsogon conveys this in his letter to His Holiness:

Recently in the July 30-31, 2007, issue of the Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, an article discussing the Mariology of St. Alphonsus Liguori used the term "Co-redemptrix" on two occasions, and also referred to Our Lady as the "Universal Mediatrix" and the "Advocate." The use of these terms once again confirms both their doctrinal integrity and their traditional use amidst popes, saints, theologians, and mystics throughout the past 1,500 years of Church history.

On August 8, I had the undeserved privilege of presenting to our beloved Holy Father the new Italian translation of With Jesus: The Story of Mary-Co-redemptrix following the Pope’s Wednesday Audience in the Paul VI Center (pictured above). The Italian edition is dedicated to Pope Benedict, and when I showed him the dedication, he responded with extreme graciousness and gratitude.

I explained to His Holiness that the book sought to synthesize the history and theology of Marian Coredemption in Church Tradition. "Is this for me?" he responded with a large smile on his face, and then proceeded to thank me repeatedly for the book and its dedication to him. The Holy Father’s love for Our Lady is obvious, and I believe the continued influence and intercession of Pope John Paul II on Pope Benedict will lead to an even more generous and bold love and proclamation of the "whole truth about Mary."

As these positive developments towards the solemn papal definition continue, so does our responsibility as Our Mother’s children to pray daily for the fifth Marian Dogma. As these inspired successors of the apostles remind us, the grave global realities of moral degeneration, natural disaster, war, and terrorism seem to increase by the day. This is the time when we need Our Lady’s roles solemnly proclaimed by the highest human authority on earth. Once the bearer of the keys of Peter speaks definitively, the Mother of All Peoples will be "freed" to fully exercise her tremendously powerful roles of intercession for the human family. I believe grace, redemption, and peace will pour forth upon the earth like few other times in human history once the dogma of Mary Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate is proclaimed.

Please prayerfully consider making a commitment to Our Lady to pray daily for the fifth Marian Dogma. Include the Marian dogma intention in your daily Rosary. Offer your prayer for this dogma during Mass, particularly at the moment of consecration. And offer some of your daily sacrifices of vocation for this dogma. It should be little surprise that the final realization of the Dogma of Mary Co-redemptrix would necessitate suffering on the part of all who are united to Our Lady and to the eventual Triumph of her most Immaculate Heart. Let us offer a little suffering in love for the Mother Co-redemptrix who offered so much suffering in love, ever united with Jesus our Divine Redeemer, for each one of us.