John Paul II, January 28, 1988
Mary was therefore a virgin before the birth of Jesus and she
remained
a virgin in giving
birth and after the birth. This is the
truth presented by
the New Testament texts, and which was expressed both
by the Fifth
Ecumenical Council at Constantinople in 553, which
speaks of Mary as
'ever virgin', and also by the Lateran Council in 649,
which teaches that
the mother of God...Mary...conceived [her Son] through
the power of the
Holy Spirit without human intervention, and in giving birth to
him, her
virginity remained
incorrupted, and even after the birth her virginity
remained intact.
.
1988