Pastoral Letter: Bishop Joseph E. Strickland: She Who Stands Beneath the Cross

A Pastoral Letter on the Blessed Virgin Mary,

Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix of All Graces

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On 4 November 2025, the Holy See released a Doctrinal Note through the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) entitled Mater Populi Fidelis, signed by DDF Prefect Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez. In the document, Cardinal Fernandez declares “it would not be appropriate to use the title ‘Co-redemptrix’ to define Mary’s cooperation.” The stated reason is that such a title “risks obscuring Christ’s unique salvific mediation and can therefore create confusion and an imbalance in the harmony of the truths of the Christian faith…” (Paragraph 22).

Because many of the faithful are unsettled by these words, and because love for the Blessed Virgin is the heartbeat of authentic Catholic faith, I feel compelled as a successor of the Apostles to reaffirm the perennial teaching of the Church regarding Our Lady’s singular cooperation in the Redemption.

It is striking that the rationale given – to avoid “confusion” and for ecumenical reasons – echoes the same language that for more than half a century has been used to soften and obscure Catholic truth. Such reasoning has dulled the sharp edge of doctrine until only vague sentiment remains. But truth cannot be sacrificed on the altar of diplomacy. Ecumenism that silences truth ceases to be true unity. The path forward is not to blur what makes the Faith distinct, but to proclaim it with clarity and charity, trusting the light of revelation to dispel confusion, not conceal it. …

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