The Place of Mary in Contemporary Theological Research. An Investigation of the Contribution of Virgilio Elizondo and Elizabeth A. Johnson

Although Mary and Mariology do not seem to be major concerns among academic theologians, a modest reemergence of the figure of Mary in different areas and a renewed interest in Mariology in different fields and traditions indicate that Mary can play a constructive role in contemporary theological discussions. Elizabeth A Johnson, a feminist liberation theologian, argues that the image of Mary need to be reshaped in order to avoid exaggeration in devotional practices and to free the image of Mary from being used by theologians for perpetuating women inequality and gender discrimination. While Johnson views the divine maternity of Mary as one of the causes for the oppression of the women, liberation theologian Virgilio Elizondo claims that the image of Mary as mother of the new creation can constructively contribute to the liberation of the poor and it will promote the inculturation of faith in the work of evangelization. In a similar line, Sarah Jane Boss insists that we need to reinstate the image of Mary with her child in majesty to oppose today’s dehumanizing and denaturalizing momentum because, the virgin mother of the twelfth century can be of great use in reminding the present generation of the interconnected feature of the cosmos of the creator and its responsibility towards the cosmos and the humanity. In view of promoting of ecumenical dialogue, Beverly Roberts Gaventa challenges the idea that divine motherhood is a privilege to Mary. She argues that it made Mary vulnerable and put her faith into test, nonetheless, because of her unwavering faith, Mary can be rightly called the first disciple and the mother of believers. From the perspective of the sacramental theology, Cleo McNelly Kearns maintains that the positive or negative side of the divine maternity of Mary has an intrinsic connection with the theology of sacraments, more specifically, with the theology of the Eucharist. While divine maternity of Mary is stressed in the high theologies of Eucharist, it does not occupy a prominent place in the low theologies of Eucharist. The reemergence of Mary in areas like, feminist theology, liberation theology, ecumenical dialogue and sacramental theology indicates that the theology of Mary can constructively contribute to contemporary theological debates and the image of Mary has potential to address certain problems in society.