(LifeSiteNews) — In the excellent study “Mary: Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocate” by the renowned Prof. Dr. Mark I. Miravalle, known for his teaching at Franciscan University of Steubenville and as president of the International Marian Association, Mario Luigi Cardinal Ciappi wrote a groundbreaking foreword at the time.

As theologian of the papal household from Pius XII to John Paul II, he was very familiar with the scientific dimension of the subject matter. What is also noteworthy is that he had previously been the professor of Mariology, responsible for the student and doctoral candidate Karol Wojtyła, in Rome. In Miravalle’s 1993 theological study, Cardinal Ciappi expressly shares the author’s hope:

With the profound contribution of our present Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, to the understanding of the mystery of Mary’s mediation with Christ and the Church … there remains only one final act to bring the Marian roles of co-redemptrix, mediatrix, and advocate … to full recognition and into the ecclesial life of the people of God: namely, that our Holy Father, in his office as Vicar of Christ on earth and guided by the Spirit of Truth, recognize the Marian roles as co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces, and Advocate of the People of God, as Christian dogma revealed by God, in proper veneration of the Mother of Jesus and for the good of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church of Christ.

Later, special attention was also given to a statement by Cardinal Ciappi, who, as an authentic witness to the message of Fatima, revealed: “Among other things, the Third Secret predicts that the great apostasy in the Church will begin at the top.”

In order to remain in the true Catholic faith, it is essential to understand and accept the exalted position of the Blessed Virgin and Mother of God, Mary, in the plan of salvation. She is praised as the one Who “alone has conquered and destroyed all heresies.”

The veneration of Mary has its origin in the unique election with which the Immaculate One is gifted by the Triune God. St. Augustine, Father of the Church, therefore says: “However much we may praise Mary, it is still very little in comparison with what is due to Her dignity as Mother of God.”

And St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Doctor of the Church, emphasizes that Her intercession is necessary for us: “This necessity is confirmed by such great theologians and Church Fathers that it is very inappropriate […] to say that they have used exaggerations to exalt Mary”; he refers to the large number of saints “who, enlightened by the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Truth, have spoken.”

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori emphasizes that the title “Mediatrix of All Graces” is firmly rooted in the Tradition of the Church. He explains that this title in no way contradicts Christ’s mediation between God and mankind, as handed down to us in Sacred Scripture: The former is “mediation based on justice through merit,” while the latter is “mediation of grace on the path of intercession. And again, it is one thing to say that God cannot, and another to say that God does not want to grant His graces without Mary’s mediation.”

Although the Immaculate One is a creature, the Almighty could not have exalted Her higher than He has done. Therefore, the Most High has decided that all graces given to us from the merits of Jesus Christ should come to us through Mary’s mediation.

She is all beautiful, so pure, full of grace, so that She may guide all grace to us as our mother. St. Bernard of Clairvaux, therefore, compares Her to an aqueduct, so that we may receive from Her abundance in this way. The Doctor of the Church affirms the universal mediation of grace: God has “placed the fullness of all good things in Mary […] so that we may realize how everything we possess in terms of hope, grace, and salvation flows into us from Her.” St. Bernard clearly emphasizes exclusivity: no grace comes from heaven to earth that does not pass through the hands of Mary (“Nulla gratia venit de coelo ad terram, nisi transeat per manus Mariae”).

St. Bonaventure describes Mary as the gate of heaven and speaks of Her necessity in the economy of salvation: No one can enter heaven except through Mary as the gate (“Nullus potest coelum intrare, nisi per Mariam transeat tamquam per portam”). And the Doctor of the Church affirms: Christ is never found except with Mary and through Mary (“Numquam invenitur Christus, nisi cum Maria, nisi per Mariam”).

St. Bernardine of Siena states: “From the moment the Virgin Mother received the Divine Word in Her womb, She acquired a certain spiritual power over all the gifts that come to us from the Holy Spirit, in such a way that no creature ever obtains a grace from God except through the mediation of this gracious Mother.” This saint also emphasizes the universal dimension of the reality “that all gifts, all virtues, and all graces are distributed through the hands of Mary to whom She wills, when She wills, and how She wills.”

Many popes have also emphasized that the Blessed Virgin Mary is the true Co-Redemptrix. From the rich treasure of these testimonies, the following examples are noteworthy. They shed light on the position of the Immaculata as Co-Redemptrix with Christ, intimately united with Him in Her unique cooperation in the work of salvation.

St. Pope Pius X teaches: “Thanks to the unity of suffering and intention that exists between Christ and Mary, She deserved to become the most worthy restorer of the lost world […] But since She surpasses all in holiness and unity with Christ, and because She was chosen by Christ to be His partner in the work of human redemption, She acquires for us de congruo, as it is said, what Christ acquires for us de condigno.”

We find this truth particularly clearly expressed by Pope Benedict XV: “The fact that She was crucified and died with Her Son was in accordance with the heavenly plan. She suffered to such an extent and died with Her suffering and dying Son; to such an extent that She surrendered Her maternal rights over Her Son for the sake of the salvation of mankind and sacrificed him – as far as She could – to satisfy God’s justice, so that we can rightly say that She redeemed the human race together with Christ.”

Pope Pius XI also refers to Mary’s real compassion and likewise describes Her as the true co-redemptrix: “O Mother of love and mercy, Who, when Your sweetest Son accomplished the redemption of the human race on the altar of redemption, stood beside Him and suffered with Him as co-redemptrix […] preserve in us, we implore you, and increase in us, day by day, the precious fruits of His redemption and the compassion of His Mother.”

Pope Pius XII emphasizes Mary’s intimate unity with Her Son, as the new Eve placed alongside the new Adam in the work of salvation: “For since She was united as Mother and Co-Redemptrix with the King of Martyrs in the ineffable work of human redemption, She remains forever united with Him in an almost limitless power in the dispensation of the graces that flow from redemption.”

St. Pope John Paul II emphasizes: “At the foot of the cross, Mary participated through faith in the shattering mystery of this self-emptying. This is perhaps the deepest ‘kenosis’ (self-emptying) of faith in human history: through faith, Mary participates in the death of Her Son – in his redemptive death.” And elsewhere, the Pontiff teaches: “Mary’s role as co-redemptrix did not therefore end with the glorification of Her Son.”

In light of these significant sources, all people of goodwill receive the authentic answer to the controversy currently raging about true Mariology.

The testimonies of numerous saints and popes from the Church of God demonstrate how the latest scriptum from the Vatican should be evaluated. The relevance of the note published there is clearly shown by the fact that the brochure comes from the same place where the pagan “goddess” Pachamama was worshipped in a sacrilegious and blasphemous cult.

How should faithful Catholics respond to this? With even more fervent devotion to the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our wonderful Queen!

In accordance with the prophetic words of St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort:

For the Most High, Who exalts the humble, has decreed that heaven, earth, and the underworld, whether they like it or not, should bow under the scepter of the humble Virgin, and thus He has made Mary the mistress of heaven and earth, and raised Her to be the leader of His armies, the treasurer of His riches, the dispenser of His graces, the instrument of His great miracles, the redeemer of the human race, the mediator of the elect, the destroyer of the enemies of God, and the faithful companion of His glory and triumphs.