The document seeks to transcend past controversies on Catholic dogma, including the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of Mary. While not spelled out specifically in the Bible, such beliefs can be interpreted through Scripture, according to the 80-paragraph document. Among other matters, Catholics and Protestants disagree over the Catholic dogmas of the Immaculate Conception, the assertion that Mary lived a life free from sin from the moment she was conceived, and the Assumption, the belief that her body and soul were taken into heaven when her earthly life ended. Those dogmas have created problems not only for Anglicans but also for other Christians, the document said, largely because they are not explicitly supported by Scripture. But those dogmas also can be said to be consonant with the teaching of the Scriptures and the ancient common traditions, said the document, titled Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ. How can either of these two doctrines be biblically derived? They cannot. The Catholic Church has long acknowledged that the role they give Mary cannot be supported by Scripture alone, so now both the Catholic and Anglican churches have admitted through the publication of this document that these teachings are based on mere human tradition. In the distant past, someone decided that honoring Mary in this way would be nice, or perhaps he used the word appropriate, because she was chosen by God to bear His Son in her womb, and besides, she seems to be such a good woman. However, the Scriptures call for no such elevation in status, and they certainly never claim that she lived a perfect, sinless life. Now, the Roman Catholic Church has gone so far as to claim she is co-savior with Christ. Such presumption seems beyond the bounds of honest, spiritual reasoning.

Catholics believe in the Immaculate Conception of Mary. This major doctrine states that Mary was conceived and born normally, but at the instant when her soul was fused to her flesh, she was protected and exempted from the stain of original sin. The reasoning is that, for Jesus to be untouched by original sin, His mother, the one who conceived and bore Him, had to be immaculate as well. In the Catholic Encyclopedia article on Immaculate Conception, the writer admits this cannot be found in the Bible. Under the heading Proof from Scripture, the article says, No direct or categorical and stringent proof of the dogma can be brought forward from Scripture. But the first scriptural passage which contains the promise of the redemption, mentions also the Mother of the Redeemer. The rest of the article then explores the Proof from Tradition and the Proof from Reason. In essence, it says that this doctrine lacks scriptural backing, but it has plenty from church tradition and human wisdom. Since Catholics cannot find, or will not acknowledge, any scriptures that disprove it, then it is settled as official doctrine.

The Greek does not support the Catholic interpretation of the angel's greeting to Mary as indicating that she possessed grace inherently. God granted favor to Mary out of His lovingkindness and mercy, not that she had the grace already. The notion that she was born perfect and full of grace from the womb is rejected as contrary to the passage. The text explains that Mary was an ordinary girl who was not converted but was doing her best as a carnal person. God looked down and decided that her life was pretty good and chose to bestow His grace upon her. This shows that the blessing originates with God rather than with any inherent quality in Mary herself.

This doctrine falsely teaches that man's sinful nature is passed on through procreation much in the same way as physical DNA. This teaching eventually reaches out and includes the declaration that Mary Jesus' mother was a chosen vessel miraculously kept free of this contamination by God. Their claim is that Mary's conception was an immaculate conception. Thus she was a worthy vessel to carry within her the God-child and give birth to Him and she would not pass on sin. Thus they make the claim that she was truly virginal in every way and this is totally untrue. She never had a child before and she was a virgin in that way but immediately this doctrine puts a wrong slant on marriage and the sexual act itself. It manages to taint the great blessing of marriage and procreation within it as being a curse rather than being a great blessing. It is as though sin enters us through this means. Marriage is indeed involved to a degree with the passing on of human nature and sin being a part of our life but not in that way.