Religion: The Problem of Mary

The greatest obstacle to Christian reunion is the question of the authority of the Pope. But almost as difficult for Protestants to accept is the Roman Catholic cult of Mary, whom Catholics revere as their spiritual mother, able to intercede for them before God. Protestants generally reject the idea of the Immaculate Conception and of the Assumption into heaven—both doctrines that have been made articles of faith for Catholics within the last 107 years. Last week, at the annual convention of the Mariological Society of America, a leading Catholic theologian warned that it...