The Challenge Posed by Catholic Church’s Course Correction -By Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi

Whoever propounded the “Nothing is cast in stone” aphorism didn’t take what is true into consideration. Otherwise, they would have known that the truth is ever lurking and as steadfast as the rock of Gibraltar. A lie, even if a century ahead, will eventually be overtaken by the truth. You can imagine how long the veneration of Mary as the “co-redemptrix” has endured in certain quarters. Alas, the truth has caught up with the institution by mortals, and something had to give!

Few days ago, the news broke that there has been a unanimous acknowledgement by the Roman Catholic Church that Jesus Christ solely saved humanity through His crucifixion, death and resurrection. Based on this illumination, Pope Leo XIV instructed Catholics around the world to stop bestowing the “co-redemptrix” title on the Virgin Mary. The Pontiff, in a document approved and signed by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, was categorical that calling the Blessed Mother “co-redeemer” risks “eclipsing the exclusive role of Jesus Christ” as the Savior.

Many consider it a welcome development for the Catholic Church to have realised that the now-proscribed title creates confusion for the “truths of the Christian faith.” It is the sort of understanding about which Jesus would have said: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Before going any further, if the caption of this article gave you the wrong idea, sorry about that. We are fixated on the exemplary force of the Catholics’ action on this epiphany, not the pitfall (if any).

It is common knowledge that the deifying of the Virgin Mary is deeply entrenched in the Catholic faith. In Nigeria, her shrine adorns virtually every Catholic parish and cathedral with a miniature one positioned in living room corners. Adherents beseech the Immaculate One to pray for them, not minding that Christ alone is the Believer’s authentic access to the Almighty. Acts 4:12 makes it abundantly clear that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (NIV)

When charged with worshipping Mary, Catholics will quickly counter that they are only honoring her as the one who birthed the Saviour of mankind. They may no longer be that burdened as the new decree from the Vatican clears much of the confusion and reinforces the centrality of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection in the Catholic faith.

Be that as it may, sister denominations must be circumspect enough not to gloat, feel vindicated or claim doctrinal high ground over the mother Church’s repentance. This is due to their own internal contradictions, dogmas and teachings that are inconsistent with Scripture. The Anglican Church of Nigeria announced in August that it is severing ties with the Church in Wales following the election of Bishop Cherry Vann, an openly lesbian cleric, as the Archbishop of Wales. They held that her emergence represents a serious breach of biblical teaching on sexuality and leadership within the Anglican tradition.

For the evangelicals, they still fiercely disagree on fundamental issues such as tithing, prosperity and salvation. You’d find radicals who believe they have the Apostolic Mandate to whip extra-Scriptural preachers into line. Exasperated by their excesses, a Father of Faith berated those who feast on perceived flaws in their senior colleagues’ sermons as children of witch doctors. According to him, the dark forces that hobbled their parents have made such critics irreverent, and are bent on destroying them.

I’ve heard a general overseer expressing great relief at not authoring a book years earlier because he has come to the realisation that his erstwhile beliefs and messages were unfounded. The man of God even cringes at the thought of authoring ignorant books that would have been Highway to Hell. This goes to show that the limited knowledge of God ails most denominations. Perhaps that’s what the Apostle Paul meant when he said “we know in part.” If Saul could unapologetically become Paul with phenomenal exploits in tow, the fear of backlash shouldn’t deter any set man from giving vent to corrections from the One who sent him.

The Catholic Church has shown leadership by backing off the blasphemy that is central to their creed, not minding that generations of adults and ancestors were raised in the block rosaries, with chaplets and the co-redemptrix doctrine. This course correction by an ultra-conservative Church should not just challenge their offshoots but religious Christians for whom “as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end…” Such hardliners had better make themselves malleable to the move of the Spirit in these latter days.

The Holy See finally saw the light and acted on conviction, phasing out a falsehood that has tried to perpetuate itself in Catholicism. Down memory lane, the late Pope Francis had described the concept of Mary as “co-redeemer” as foolishness in 2019, saying she “never wanted to take anything for herself from her son.” Pope Benedict XVI also opposed the appellation. Pope John Paul II had supported it but stopped using the title publicly in the mid-1990s after Vatican doctrinal authorities raised concerns about it.

In the main, no Church or religious leader should be ridiculed for coming to a better understanding or pivoting from what they had represented in all their ministry life. While it is tragic that several souls would have been led astray, they can compensate for this by bringing many more people to the knowledge of the Truth. Everyone should get used to the repentance and pivoting of general overseers and pastors because this is the age when, according to Prophet Habakkuk, “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Shock switch in doctrines and orientation by men of the cloth is also in fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to “build my church, and the gates of hell (read fallacies and heresies) shall not prevail against it.”

VIS Ugochukwu writes from Lagos, and tweets @sylvesugwuanyi