.
. . Saint Joseph, like Mary, could have been preserved from original sin in
light of his vocation as Guardian of the greatest treasures of the Father:
Jesus and Mary. It would indeed seem more fitting that the most pure and
perfect creatures who ever appeared on the earth would be entrusted to a man
without the disordered desires that are a consequence of concupiscence. If this
hypothesis were verified, it would be the case that God decided that under the
same roof with Jesus and Mary there lived a most pure man not only in behavior,
but also in thoughts and desires (free of the concupiscence that comes from original
sin). A biblical basis would again be the attestation of Saint Matthew
according to which Saint Joseph was “righteous.” We have to remember that the
hypothesis is not excluded a priori by the dogmatic definition of the
Immaculate Conception of Mary, because the text speaks of a “singular privilege”
of Our Lady, consequently, even if this is a privilege presented more as unique
than rare, the chosen formulation does not in itself absolutely exclude that God
could have conceded to somebody else this entirely exceptional grace. (Mauro
Gagliardi, Truth is a Synthesis: Catholic Theology [Steubenville, Ohio:
Emmaus Academic, 2020], 537-38)
However,
we need to say that, recalling a text of Pius XII, Saint John Paul II excluded
the hypothesis of the immaculateness of Saint Joseph (see General Audience,
June 12, 1996). Considering its low magisterial weight, the text of the Holy
Pontiff does not, however, prevent theologians from continuing to reflect on the
question. (Ibid., 538 n. 130)
The relevant quote from John Paul
II’s General Audience from June
12, 1996 reads as follows:
The
dogmatic definition does not say that this singular privilege is unique, but
lets that be intuited. The affirmation of this uniqueness, however, is
explicitly stated in the Encyclical Fulgens corona of 1953, where Pope Pius XII
speaks of "the very singular privilege which was never granted to another
person" (AAS 45 [1953], 580), thus excluding the possibility, maintained
by some but without foundation, of attributing this privilege also to St
Joseph.
