← Basic Catholicism-Catholic Beliefs-Mary Export Options Alphabetize Word-Def Delimiter Tab Comma Custom Def-Word Delimiter New Line Semicolon Custom Data Copy and paste the text below. It is read-only. Select All Did Mary (Jesus' Mother) have other children? ... CATHOLIC The Catholic Church has declared infallibly that Mary had no other children. Therefore, if this contradicts the Bible, (e.g., Matthew 13:55) we are left with an infallible pope contradicting an "inerrant Bible. CATHOLIC Mary remained a virgin her entire life. CATHOLIC The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary's real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man. In fact, Christ's birth did not diminish his mother's virginal integrity but sanctified it. And so the liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the Ever-virgin. CATHOLIC Against this doctrine the objection is sometimes raised that the Bible mentions brothers and sisters of Jesus. The Church has always understood these passages as not referring to other children of the Virgin Mary. In fact James and Joseph, "brothers of Jesus," are the sons of another Mary , a disciple of Christ, whom St. Matthew significantly calls the other Mary. They are close relations of Jesus, according to an Old Testament expression. CATHOLIC Jesus is Mary's only son, but her spiritual motherhood extends to all men whom he came to save. "The Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as the first-born among many brethren, that is the faithful in whose generation and formulation she cooperates with a mother's love." PROTESTANT Matthew 12:46-47 [46] While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. [47] Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." PROTESTANT Mark 3:31-32 [31] Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. [32] A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." PROTESTANT Matthew 13:54-56 [54] Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. [55] "Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? [author of the New Testament book of Jude, not Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus] [56] Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" PROTESTANT John 7:1-5 [1] After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. [2] But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, [3] Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. [4] No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." [5] For even his own brothers did not believe in him. CATHOLIC he Catholic Church responds that the Greek word used can mean either sibling or close kin, i.e., cousins. In other words, the Catholic Church claims Mary and Jesus' cousins were looking for Him, and the people in His hometown were naming His cousins. CATHOLIC During Jesus' time, there was no hebrew word for cousin. So, if you use logic and common sense, the Catholics are right, and Protestants are wrong. ...