[HarleyD]

Mary and her role in God’s plan, her status as the sinless, perpetual Virgin has been accepted from the Apostles through today by the vast majority of Christians.

I see nothing in the infallible word of God that supports this. John, who took care of Mary after our Lord's death on the cross, stated:

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."

and

"If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

I don't see an exclusion for Mary and please keep in mind these statements were made well after his care of Mary. Clearly he would not have made such a careless remark.

As far as extraneous writings written hundreds of years after the events, one has to remember that only the scriptures have been declared infallible by the Church. Everything else is prone to error.

Splinter sects deny these accepted Truths and word warble about details (and squabble amongst themselves over those details), but mainstream Christendom has NEVER accepted anything less than the Truth.

My, my. How we have lost our ecumenicalism, haven't we?

[narses]

“I see nothing in the infallible word of God that supports this.”

No doubt. On the other hand, billions of Christians have and do, the Church has found infallibly that it is so and yet you cannot find anything that supports that point of view. Odd, no?

“...only the scriptures have been declared infallible by the Church.”

Not so. There are fringe sects that argue that point of view, but the Church certainly does not.