Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Jesuit On Our Lady

The Virgin Mary has been a woman of many names throughout history, but differing perceptions of her role in Christian theology share some important underlying currents, according to a historical theologian who spoke Dec. 8 at Fordham College at Rose Hill.

The Catholic and Orthodox churches' differing views of Mary were the subject of the Loyola Lecture delivered by Brian Daley, S.J., (FCRH '61), the visiting St. Ignatius Loyola Chair in Theology.

Father Daley began with the critique by some Anglicans and Protestants that "the theory and practice of Catholic devotion to Mary raises serious questions about the Christian legitimacy of the Catholic Church itself."

The Catholic focus on Mary in art, liturgy and prayer has led some to say that, for Catholics, "she shares a place parallel to that of Jesus in God’s plan to redeem the world," he said.

The Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches have real differences on these issues, but both faiths have evolved a strong sense of Mary’s importance, he said.

Link (here) to the Fordham News

P.S. Dear Chris Gosier (Author of the original article), your title is less than suitable and should be changed to protect the reputation of Fordham University

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