A 51-year-old Spanish Dominican nun, Sister Lucia Caram has caused an uproar by suggesting Mary most likely conceived Jesus by having sex with her husband Joseph, rather than by immaculate conception. Her unlikely appearance on a chat show to talk about sex led her to reveal that she didn’t believe in the tenant of the Catholic faith that Mary the mother of Jesus was a virgin.
Spanish Nun Gets Death Threats for Saying Mary was Not Really A Virgin[/tweetthis]
She commented, “I think Mary was in love with Joseph and that they were a normal couple and having sex is a normal thing.”[/tweetit] She was quoted saying “it’s hard to believe and hard to take in. We’ve ended up with the rules we’ve invented without getting to the true message.” Caram was born in Argentina but lives in a Catalan convent. She believes, sexuality is God-given and that it is a basic part of every individual.
She further adds sex is a means of self-expression and it is an issue the Church has struggled with for a long time. “I think the Church has had a poor attitude to it [sex] for a long time and has swept it a bit under the carpet. It wasn’t a taboo subject, it was more of something that was considered dirty or hidden. It was the denial of what I believed to be a blessing.”
The nun’s remarks were not taken lightly and they prompted a wave of online anger including an online petition for her suspension from her order. The Church as well did not remain silent on the matter. A visibly frustrated Bishop of Vic was quick to distance the Church from her claim reminding people that Mary’s virginity was not up for debate. “The belief that Mary was a perpetual virgin forms part of the faith of the Church from its beginnings. This truth of faith was collected and proclaimed by the Second Council of Constantinople, the primary Marian dogma observed by Catholic and Orthodox Christians,” he stated.
Nun gets death threats for suggesting Mary wasn't a virgin https://t.co/dCLYtXHjxi
— Ken Schaefer (@ricelaker) February 1, 2017
Caram later came out and issued a statement in which she said she had received death threats because of her comments about Mary’s virginity. She further defended her comments. “I said that, as I see it, Mary obviously loved Joseph. I wanted to say that it wouldn’t shock me if she had a normal couple’s relationship with her husband Joseph.” She remarked. She apologized to anyone who felt offended and added that “This shocked a lot of people, perhaps because there was no opportunity for clarification. I think that my fidelity to and love for the Church, the gospel, and Jesus’s projects are clear – as it the certainty that sex is neither dirty nor something to be condemned. Marriage and sex are a blessing.”
She is no stranger to controversy, recently she engaged in politics and made clear of her views on Catalan independence. This had earlier on landed her in trouble with her superiors. She boasts of more than 180,000 followers on social media platform twitter.