The Marian Papacy of Benedict XVI
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
By conventional standards, Jesus? mother is not a major figure in the New Testament. Her name appears barely a dozen times; famously, Mary is mentioned more often in the Qur?an than in the Christian Bible. Yet despite that relatively low profile, few figures in Scripture have been the subject of greater controversy.
For some Protestants, Mary has long loomed as a symbol of Catholicism?s penchant for ?adding? to the gospel, in this case an almost blasphemous level of devotion to a mere human being. For some feminists, veneration of Mary as both virgin and mother sets an impossible standard for women, thereby perpetuating male dominance. For many secularists, the body of miraculous lore surrounding Mary, especially her reported apparitions in various parts of the world, strains credibility in a special way.