(LifeSiteNews) — The traditionalist Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer have joined in the growing chorus of voices denouncing Mater Populi Fidelis, a controversial doctrinal note that says it is “inappropriate” to apply the term “Co-Redemptrix” to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The document was issued by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) earlier this week and bears the signature of Pope Leo XIV.

The group, also known as the Transalpine Redemptorists, published an article on their website on Friday, November 7. Citing sources such as the highly respected 20th century Thomist Fr. Garrigou Lagrange, OP as well as St. Alphonsus Liguori, the founder of the Redemptorist Order, the letter denounces the document taking into consideration “ecumenical” relations, among other concerns.

“The aim of Mater Populi Fidelis does not seem to be to understand the Tradition concerning Our Lady more deeply and correctly, but rather to further an agenda,” the group states.

“Catholics don’t think that Our Lady is higher than Our Lord. Catholics aren’t confused about Who redeemed us. Who is it that is worried about elevating Our Lady too far, and obscuring Our Lord? Who is it that have a problem with Mary as Coredemptrix and Mediatrix? It is the Protestants, and the Jansenists,” they further argue.

Jansenism was a heresy that stemmed from the erroneous views of Cornelius Jansen (1585–1638), a Dutch theologian whose ideas were later condemned by the Church for their skewed understanding of grace and original sin. The Redemptorists argue that the Vatican’s declaration “bears many of the hallmarks of Jansenistic thinking.”

READ: Vatican misses golden opportunity to confirm Mary’s role as Mediatrix of grace for the world

“It has a veneer of Marian piety, but that veneer is only a distraction, while it rips the guts out of some of the most important Marian mysteries,” they say. “Jansenists want a measured, minimalist reverence towards Our Lady to avoid any hint that Our Lady might be elevated too far, and that is certainly what this document delivers.”

As has been pointed out by many Catholic commentators in recent days, dozens of popes, saints, theologians, and clergy have referred to Mary as the “Co-Redemptrix.” The title is meant to honor her role in Our Lord’s plan of salvation, especially her participation in the Passion of Christ, in which she willingly consented to partake in a spiritual manner. This was noted by the Redemptorists in their statement.

“It is fitting … that Our Lady should be associated with Him in this task, not only as the second Eve, not only as the Virgin Mother who brought him into the world, but also as a co-sufferer,” they say. “Our Lady suffered in herself, because she loved her Divine Son more than any mother will ever love their son, and His tremendous sufferings and death caused Her to suffer too; She also offered both Her own suffering and that of Her Son to God the Father for the salvation of the world.”

On October 31, Fr. Michael Mary, who helped found the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer in the late 1980s, published a blog rebuking the 6oth-year anniversary celebration of the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate held at Paul VI Hall. He exclaimed that “during these gatherings, Catholicism was placed on the same level as all other world religions.”

On October 24, Bishop Hugh Gilbert, OSB of Aberdeen, Scotland announced that he has been in touch with the Vatican to determine the group’s canonical standing. “The competent Dicasteries of the Holy See are also studying the situation and will provide canonical and doctrinal guidance,” he said. The community struck a deal with the Vatican in 2012 after having previously been loosely affiliated with the Priestly Society of St. Pius X.

In their letter denouncing Mater Populi Fidelis, the community puts forth additional arguments in defense of the Church’s traditional theological understanding of the role Mary played in the salvation of mankind.

“One of the key questions when we speak about Our Lady as Coredemptrix is how she merited for us. Was it the same kind of merit by which Our Lord, through His Passion and death, redeemed the world? If it were, wouldn’t that place Her on the same level as God Himself?” they ask.

“This question is where the traditional distinction, mentioned in the new document, between merit de condigno and merit de congruo comes in. Condign (de condigno) merit truly deserves its reward because God, in His goodness, has promised to reward works done in His grace. When someone is in a state of grace, his good works are pleasing to God, and God has freely bound Himself to give the reward He has promised (all of this depends on Christ, the Head, from whom our ability to merit flows),” they explain.

READ: Here’s why we must say Mary is the Mediatrix of all Graces

“When we say that such merit is ‘owed,’” they continue, “we must ask what is owed, and to whom. Any soul in grace, and above all Our Lady, can truly merit for themselves an increase of grace and, in the end, eternal life, because God has promised these rewards. But no creature, however holy, can merit the salvation of others as something owed, i.e. de condigno; that belongs to Christ alone, for only He is both God and man and the Head of the human race. Our Lady’s condign merit is for Her alone, and as a creature She cannot transfer that to someone else, as would be necessary if She were condignly to merit our redemption.”

“Congruous merit (de congruo), by contrast, is based not on obligation but on love and fittingness,” they additionally state. “God is not bound to reward it, but it is fitting that He should do so. In this sense, Our Lady’s cooperation in the Redemption was de congruo: by Her perfect love and union with Her Son, God willed, in a way most fitting, to associate Her freely with the Redemptive work of Our Lord.”

The group finally notes that “Our Lady, the New Eve foretold in Genesis, was united with Christ in the work of our redemption as a true cause, though always secondary and dependent on Him. Just as Eve had freely shared in Adam’s fall, so Mary freely shared in Christ’s saving work. Her cooperation was not just physical, but spiritual and moral: through her faith, obedience, and loving consent to the sufferings of her Son, she took part in redeeming the human race in the way God had planned.”

To read the full statement, click here to visit the community’s website.