The Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix Question: Eastern African Perspectives on Mary Before Vatican II
By Fr. Casmir Odundo Following the definition of Mary’s Immaculate Conception in 1854 and that of her Assumption in 1950, there emerged an even stronger Marian movement in the second half of the 20th century leading to the Vatican II Council. Indeed, the Marian question was one of the most debated issues during the Second Vatican Council. A key point of contention was whether to dedicate a separate schema to the Blessed Virgin Mary or to incorporate Marian doctrine within the broader ecclesiological framework of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. The decision to include Marian teaching within Lumen Gentium (Chapter VIII) was made by a narrow margin of only forty votes. Significantly, the Council Fathers explicitly clarified that this decision should not be interpreted as either a minimalist or a maximalist position, but rather as a theological and pastoral judgment aiming to situate Mariology in relation to ecclesiology. Just before this conciliar debate, the preparatory vota s...