Sterling Heights — Non-Catholics make a lot of assumptions about Mary, the mother of Jesus, argues Gary Michuta. One of the foremost assumptions is about, well, the Assumption.

“Of all the Marian doctrines, the Assumption of Mary is probably one of the least attacked by non-Catholics, just because it seems so weird and out of place,” Michuta said during the fifth annual Midwest Catholic Apologetics Conference on Jan. 13 at SS. Cyril and Methodius (Slovak) Parish in Sterling Heights. “Most non-Catholics aren’t even aware of what we believe about the Assumption.”

Michuta, who also is a regular columnist for The Michigan Catholic, joined fellow apologists Tim Staples, Bobby Hesley and Robert Fastiggi, Ph.D., as speakers during the daylong conference, which focused on various Marian doctrines that often trip up non-Catholics. The conference’s title, “Making Sense of Mary,” is also the title of Michuta’s 2013 book.

“Whenever non-Catholics hear that Catholics believe in the Assumption, they figure, ‘Well, that’s just an assumption.’ But the Assumption of Mary is very biblical,” said Michuta, who lives in Livonia.

While common objections include the false belief that Pope Pius XII “invented” the doctrine when he issued his dogmatic declaration in 1950, Michuta said, the fact is, belief in the Assumption had existed for centuries.

“After World War II, there was an explosion of Marian devotion in the Catholic Church, and the word started getting to Rome that the laity would really like this doctrine to be defined,” Michuta said. “So the pope petitioned the bishops of the world, and the bishops responded overwhelmingly in favor of defining this dogma.”

There isn’t anything is Scripture that contradicts the Assumption, Michuta said, and on the contrary, Scripture does have examples of others being taken bodily from the earth, such as Elijah in 2 Kings and Enoch in Genesis.

As the “new Eve” — a designation attested by several Church fathers — Mary reverses what the first Eve wrought on mankind, Michuta argued. And since Adam’s exile from the garden of paradise was reversed by the “new Adam,” Christ, who ascended into heaven, Eve’s exile was similarly reversed through the “new Eve,” Mary, being assumed body and soul into heaven.

“Our love for Mary and our proclaiming the Assumption is nothing less than us proclaiming that God is a perfect redeemer,” Michuta said.

Staples, director of apologetics and evangelization for Catholic Answers, spoke about another oft-disputed Marian doctrine: the Immaculate Conception.

A convert to the faith during his time in the Marine Corps, Staples said the Catholic belief that Mary did not sin was one of the most challenging stumbling blocks to him eventually becoming Catholic.

It wasn’t until he met a knowledgeable Catholic, a fellow Marine, that Staples began to see that perhaps his assumptions that “all have sinned” — a passage from Romans 3:23 — might not need to be taken as literally as he first thought.

“He said, ‘Tim, what if I can show you millions of exceptions to Romans 3:23?’” Staples recalled. “‘Have babies in the womb sinned? Have children under the age of accountability sinned? How about the severely mentally challenged?’ They cannot sin, because you have to know what you are doing and freely engage the will. I was dumbfounded.”

Staples went on to describe his personal journey, and how the fellow Marine opened his eyes to the evidence that Mary, in order to more perfectly glorify Christ, was preserved from the stain of sin to reverse the effects of the Fall. Like the Assumption, much rests on Mary’s designation as the “new Eve,” Staples said.

“Think about it: if Eve was created without sin, and Eve is a mere shadow of Mary, then to say that Mary has sin is unthinkable in New Testament theology,” Staples said. “I will never forget when that hit me right between the eyes.”

“Mary is the antidote to all of this,” Staples said.

Later in the conference, Fastiggi — standing in for Mariology expert Mark Miravalle — talked about the role of St. Joseph in Marian theology, and Hesley spoke about the Blessed Mother’s perpetual virginity.

Following the talks, the speakers gathered for a question-and-answer session, and closed with a blessing from SS. Cyril and Methodius’ pastor, Fr. Libor Marek.