Peter Hoar, Waterfall, KZN – Several articles on the position of Our Lady in the Church have been carried in The Southern Cross.
Your Nigeria columnist Joseph Ani Arinze mentioned the strong devotion to Mary in his country, and said many seem to worship Mary in place of, or on a par with, God. A fellow Nigerian wrote to refute this, saying critics falsely accuse Nigerian Catholics of making Mary as important as God.
Then an article mentioned that many Christian denominations unfairly condemn the Church for the special honour given to Mary.
As we can see, the common perception is that Mary receives too much attention/adoration, and that this should be reserved for God.
I feel the reason for this problem is the Catholic Church’s tradition that Mary is the mother of God the Father, which she is not. Mary was created by God, so she cannot be his mother. Mary is the mother of Jesus, the incarnation.
This makes her a special and blessed woman, with a place of honour and love—but not worship.
It is time the Church stopped promoting this wrong idea that Mary is the mother of God the Father.
If this was done, I am sure it would help a lot of people who have not wanted to pray to Mary or look to her for help, to do so.
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