Changes to the Rosary
Question from Gary on 2/18/2008:

Greetings and thank you for this opportunity to be able to write and have questions answered.

I have been so troubled by the changes to the Rosary that Pope John Paul II has made. My apologies for not knowing my cathechism and facts of my religion better. It is my understanding that the Rosary was given to St. Dominic...and I know the Pope is the head of our faith. But I am having problems accepting the fact that the Pope added mysteries to the Rosary. How could he possibly change what the Blessed Mother gave to our faith? Now I am so confused in my faith. As a Catholic do I have to recite the new myteries of the Rosary? Plus, we had a formula we used to follow, like during Lent we recited the Sorrowful Mysteries until Easter Sunday. Do we not follow this formula any more? I am so bothered by the change to our Blessed Mother's Rosary and totally upset about a human being, albeit the Pope, changing what was given to us by the Blessed Mother herself. Please pray for me. Please answer my questions. And again, I am most thankful that you offer us this opportunity to seek answers to our questions. Blessings Always, Gary

Answer by David Gregson on 3/6/2008:
You have an oversimplified view of the development of the Rosary. Although Our Lady is traditionally said to have encouraged St. Dominic's use of the Rosary to combat Albigensianism, it's not likely she gave him the Rosary in the form familiar before the change introduced by Pope John Paul II. See The Rosary Predated St. Dominic. Moreover, John Paul II didn't require use of his five Luminous Mysteries in Rosary meditations. He left it voluntary, whether to use them, and when. See Rosarium Virginis Mariae.