[NYer]

Clergymen attend a mass celebrated by Pope Francis (rear center) at the Cenacle, where Christian tradition says Jesus attended The Last Supper, on Mount Zion just outside Jerusalem's Old City May 26, 2014. Pope Francis navigated the minefield of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and humbly bowed to kiss the hands of Holocaust survivors on Monday, the last day of a Mideast trip laden with bold personal gestures. REUTERS/Jack Guez/Pool

Ping!

[Former Fetus]

Note that Acts 1:14 says "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers". Nowhere do I read the mother of God, or the mother of the Church.

Before burning me at the stake, please remember that it was Pope Francis who first referred to this verse!

[Salvation]

**“Here, where Jesus shared the Last Supper with the apostles; where, after his resurrection, he appeared in their midst; where the Holy Spirit descended with power upon Mary and the disciples. Here the Church was born, and was born to go forth,” he recalled.

In recognition of the significance of the holy site, Pope Francis celebrated the mass of the Holy Spirit along with the bishops of the Holy Land, noting that the Spirit’s presence is still with the Church today.**

BTTT!

[GreyFriar]

I think the discussion/disagreement that followed the initial post is because of this line toward the end of the article: “The Pontiff went on to consider how the Church is like a family, “that has a mother, the Virgin Mary.” “

I see this as a point of comparison by the Pope, rather than an expression of doctrine or dogma that literally, Mary is the basis of Christianity. She may have been the vessel that delivered Jesus to us, but it is Jesus preaching His Father’s word, that our salvation is based upon and all of Christianity is founded.