In 1975 Pope Paul VI wrote an apostolic exhortation on Mary, Marialis Cultus (To Honour Mary). He began that letter by saying that he observed that, for many modern people, devotion to Mary was not only problematic, it was on the wane. He suggested that one of the main reasons for this lay in the fact that our approach to Mary reflected outdated ideas of the middle ages and the Counter Reformation period of the Church, views of Mary that are unappealing to contemporary people. He called on the whole Christian people and their pastors to be creative in doing for our age what our ancestors in the faith did for their age, namely develop an appealing view for Mary suitable for our own culture.
To do this he suggested that such a theology would have five characteristics. It would be:
- Biblical: Marian theology should be rooted in the testimony of Scripture.
- Liturgical: It would be in tune with the great liturgical seasons. He named especially Advent, where Mary joins the Church in expecting the birth of the Messiah, and then Pentecost, the coming of the Spirit to the Church.
- Ecumenical: It would be in harmony with the agreements we have reached with fellow Christian Churches. Rather than being a dividing point between Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism, it would be a unifying point.
- Anthropological: By this term, Paul VI meant that it would be aware of the changing role of women in society. As women take leadership in various aspects of society, we cannot expect women or men to appreciate a Mary who is presented as a passive and subservient woman.
- Theological: This means it would have God at the centre – with Mary placed in relation to Christ and to the Church
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