Many Catholics Are in Doubt
Catholic reference works reveal that Catholic scholars have had doubts that Mary remained a virgin all her life. The Bible itself several times mentions Jesus’ “brothers” and “sisters.” (
Matthew 12:46, 47; 13:55, 56; Mark 6:3; Luke 8:19, 20; John 2:12; 7:3, 5) Some Catholics, however, claim that these words designate “relatives,” such as cousins. Is this true?
The New Catholic Encyclopedia states: “The Greek words . . . that are used to designate the relationship between Jesus and these relatives have the meaning of full blood brother and sister in the Greek-speaking world of the Evangelist’s time and would naturally be taken by his Greek reader in this sense.” Also,
The New American Bible, a Catholic translation, admits in a footnote on
Mark 6:1-6, where Jesus’ brothers and sisters are mentioned: “The question of meaning here would not have arisen but for the faith of the church in Mary’s perpetual virginity.”
The Bible clearly shows that Mary had other children besides Jesus; the Catholic Church’s teaching that she did not is what has created a controversy. Catholic author J. Gilles, who thoroughly examined all the Scriptural evidence on the subject, concluded: “Briefly and in measured language, out of faithfulness to the [Catholic] Church, I believe I can sum up my investigation as follows. . . . The FOUR CANONICAL GOSPELS provide concordant evidence . . . that Jesus had real brothers and sisters in his family. . . . In the face of this coherent block of proof the traditional position [of the Catholic Church] seems vulnerable and fragile.”
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/101985803?q=perpetual+virginity+of+Mary&p=sen