CHICLAYO, Peru (LifeSiteNews) — Catholics in Pope Leo XIV’s former diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, are petitioning him to “reconsider” what they condemn as a “truly scandalous” and “harmful” document issued by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) that opposes the Marian titles of “Co-Redemptrix” and “Mediatrix of All Graces.”

The petition includes the signatures of more than 100 Catholics “collected over the course of just a few days” and highlights the “sadness” that the note, Mater Populi Fidelis (MPF), has caused in the diocese, which Leo led from 2015 to 2023. The pontiff had previously worked as a missionary in Peru from 1985 to 1998.

The Peruvian faithful stress to Leo that “the People of God are deeply saddened by the doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis,” signed by heterodox, scandal-plagued DDF prefect Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández and published by the dicastery on November 4. Leo had approved the document on October 7.

“On the 27th of last month we celebrated Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, from whose rings flow all the graces that reach the world, and yet our parish priest found himself in the sorrowful position of being unable to speak of Our Lady as the Mediatrix of all graces,” reads the letter, dated December 1.

“Can you imagine such a thing? What a harmful innovation for the faithful this doctrinal note by Cardinal Fernández has been. How much sadness it caused us all!” it continues.

“And not to mention that our beloved Lady has been stripped of the possibility of being crowned as Co-redemptrix. This is truly scandalous,” it adds.

The Catholics of Chiclayo implore Pope Leo: “…do not make our poor Mother suffer in this way, she who suffered so greatly, both actively and spiritually, to ‘give birth’ to us at the foot of the Cross. She deserves everything, and nothing we could ever do would be enough to exalt and honor such a good Mother.”

The Vatican has faced strong backlash for Mater Populi Fidelis, including from the International Marian Association Theological Commission, which issued a correction of the document in December, calling it an “anti-development of doctrine.” The commission includes cardinals, bishops, and over 40 internationally renowned theologians, including professors Scott Hahn and Mark Miravalle.

Their correction notes that numerous popes and saints have used the titles “Co-Redemptrix” and “Mediatrix of All Graces” and that MPF ignores “consistent papal teachings” and “authoritative encyclical instructions of the Papal Magisterium.”

Mariologist Father Serafino Maria Lanzetta has also launched a global petition entitled “Filial Appeal to Pope Leo XIV,” urging Leo to review the document. Priests and lay faithful can download and sign the letter and send it to the Vatican.