Priest calling Virgin Mary's Assumption a metaphor sparks heresy debate

The Assumption of the Virgin, a dogma called into question: heresy?

Is it heresy to claim that the Assumption of the Virgin did not happen in body and soul? The question has entered public discussion after a priest referred to the episode as part of the New Testament's metaphorical language. For many Catholics, the answer is a resounding yes: touching a dogma of faith is not a mere opinion, but a serious deviation.

The dogma that divides: literalism versus metaphor

Those who defend orthodoxy remind us that the Assumption of Mary is a dogma of faith, alongside the resurrection of the dead at the Last Judgment. In that reading, Christ and the Virgin ascended to heaven in body and soul, while the rest of humanity will await that resurrection at the end of time. Treating that account as a mere metaphor is not exegesis but heresy, according to this view.

On the opposite side, some argue that the entire New Testament is written in symbolic terms. From that perspective, celebrating the Assumption does not amount to believing in a physical journey to the firmament, but rather commemorating the moment when Mary attained full enlightenment. For them, the scandal reveals more doctrinal rigidity than theology.

The Church has more pressing problems

Not everyone grants this controversy the same gravity. Some observers consider it a mere distraction compared with the structural problems the institution is going through. Others recall that in the days of Christendom "wars were started over less", which invites us to put the scope of the dispute into perspective.

Between metaphorical heresies and untouchable dogmas, the Church is once again debating heaven while standing on increasingly slippery ground.