Pope Leo doubles down on Vatican rejection of ‘Co-Redemptrix’

[Stone]

Pope Leo doubles down on Vatican rejection of ‘Co-Redemptrix’
At a time of apostasy, impurity, and confusion, the faithful do not need a diminished Mother.



Pope Leo XIV
Adri Salido/Getty Images

Jan 29, 2026
(LifeSiteNews) — On Thursday morning, Pope Leo XIV publicly praised a Vatican document that has already sparked one of the most serious Marian controversies in decades.

Addressing the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Pope commended the doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis, issued under the extremely controversial Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, infamous for his books on kissing [etc.].

Leo praised the Fernández document, saying it “encourages popular Marian devotion, deepening its biblical and theological foundations, and at the same time offers precise and important clarifications for Mariology.”

While many suggested that it was only Fernández who issued the document, the Pope has now doubled down on his support after having originally permitted its publication and signing it.

But a growing number of faithful Catholics—bishops, priests, theologians, and even the Pope’s own former flock—say those “clarifications” do something very different.

They say the document diminishes the Blessed Virgin Mary, restricts time-honored Catholic language, and effectively repudiates doctrines that popes, saints, and the universal Church have taught for centuries.

Remember what the document actually says. Mater Populi Fidelis declares that the Marian title “Co-Redemptrix” is “always inappropriate,” and it discourages the title “Mediatrix of All Graces,” claiming it is not clearly grounded in revelation and risks confusion.

[Read more here.]