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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Mary Magdolene	Peter	Thursday, January 6, 2005
Question: Did the catholic church change it's opinion of Mary Magdolene in 1969? A TV documentary said that Mary M did a lot of teaching of Jesus's message,and Peter tried to discredit her in this. Pope Gregery the Great started too disbelieve the tag that was put on her (prostitute) and that in 1969 the church revised the way she was portrayed in the life and times of Jesus. I would love to see her in a different light, even though I do not judge her. I realize there is a lot of stories we must be very careful of and continue to ask for guideance. Could you please enlighten us on what the Church believes and teaches about Mary Magdolene. Thanks for your time. Peter.
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM Dear Peter: There is a rule of thumb that we must always remember -- TV documentaries rape history when it comes to the Church. There has not been any change that I am aware of in the Church's view of St. Magdalene. There is a long-standing controversy on St. Magdalene's identity. There are three references to women in the Bible that may be three women or may all be St. Magdalene. This is discussed by Fr. William Saunders in his article, Who Really Was Mary Magdalene?. While the Biblical texts does not directly say that St. Magdalene was a prostitute, what the Bible does say implies that she was either a prostitute, an adulteress, or otherwise promiscuous. This is explained in Fr. Saunders' article. I am not sure what you mean that you would like to see St. Magdalene in a different light. I think it is a beautiful story that even a prostitute or otherwise sexually notorious woman could have such a tremendous healing and change of heart, mind, and soul as to become a Saint and not only a Saint, but a Saint of Love. St. Magdalene's love of Jesus was profound and total. We should all be that much in love with our Lord. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Mary Magdolene

Peter

Thursday, January 6, 2005

Question:

Did the catholic church change it's opinion of Mary Magdolene in 1969?

A TV documentary said that Mary M did a lot of teaching of Jesus's message,and Peter tried to discredit her in this. Pope Gregery the Great started too disbelieve the tag that was put on her (prostitute) and that in 1969 the church revised the way she was portrayed in the life and times of Jesus.

I would love to see her in a different light, even though I do not judge her. I realize there is a lot of stories we must be very careful of and continue to ask for guideance.

Could you please enlighten us on what the Church believes and teaches about Mary Magdolene.

Thanks for your time.
Peter.

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dear Peter:

There is a rule of thumb that we must always remember -- TV documentaries rape history when it comes to the Church.

There has not been any change that I am aware of in the Church's view of St. Magdalene.

There is a long-standing controversy on St. Magdalene's identity. There are three references to women in the Bible that may be three women or may all be St. Magdalene. This is discussed by Fr. William Saunders in his article, Who Really Was Mary Magdalene?.

While the Biblical texts does not directly say that St. Magdalene was a prostitute, what the Bible does say implies that she was either a prostitute, an adulteress, or otherwise promiscuous. This is explained in Fr. Saunders' article.

I am not sure what you mean that you would like to see St. Magdalene in a different light. I think it is a beautiful story that even a prostitute or otherwise sexually notorious woman could have such a tremendous healing and change of heart, mind, and soul as to become a Saint and not only a Saint, but a Saint of Love. St. Magdalene's love of Jesus was profound and total. We should all be that much in love with our Lord.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary