Did Christ pass through Mary's birth canal, or did He miraculously appear from the womb?
Robert Sungenis answers that he believes Christ was born normally through the birth canal, and that the idea of Him appearing miraculously outside the womb is neither in Scripture nor Catholic dogma. He holds that tradition as an authority means only apostolic oral tradition, and that the magisterium, not individuals, decides what belongs to it.
Following up on prior correspondence, Robert addresses whether Christ was born through the normal birth canal or whether, as some Catholics hold, He miraculously appeared from the womb without passing through it.
Answer
I made a casual, off-the-cuff statement that Mary gave normal birth to Christ, meaning He passed through the birth canal to be born. There are a few Catholics who believe Christ did not pass through the birth canal, but was in the womb and then suddenly, miraculously appeared outside it. I do not find that in Scripture, and there is no dogmatic Church teaching on it. The gentleman kept saying it comes from tradition, but I told him I do not know which tradition he means; it may have been a popular belief among some people, but it is certainly not Catholic dogma. We have to be careful as Catholics about how we assess tradition, because 'tradition' as one of our authorities, alongside Scripture and the magisterium, is not any belief held at any time in the Church; it is strictly limited to apostolic oral tradition, teaching from the mouth of the apostles, and that is a very limited category. And the one who decides whether a teaching is apostolic oral tradition is the magisterium, not some individual who says it has long been believed; if the Church declares a doctrine to be from apostolic oral tradition, she is essentially declaring it Catholic dogma, but she has to make that decision, not you and I.