The Council of Trent (1545-1563) was the Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation. Its position on Mary is decisive: while it reaffirms the traditional doctrine of the divine motherhood and of perpetual virginity, the Council defines with precision what the legitimate cult of Mary is, distinguishing it from the adoration due to God alone. Documents nn. 161-163 of Doctrina Pontificia IV record the three Marian texts of the Council of Trent.

Collection	Doctrina Pontificia IV: Marian Documents, nn. 161-165
Council	Council of Trent (1545-1563)
Popes	Paul III \| Julius III \| Paul IV
Topic	Tridentine position on Mary, legitimate cult vs. adoration

n. 161 — Trent confirms the Const. of Sixtus IV

The first Marian text of Trent confirms the Constitution of Sixtus IV on the Immaculate Conception (1483), reaffirming the position of papal neutrality: neither party (the Franciscans in favor and the Dominicans against) may accuse the other of heresy. Mary is specifically excluded from the decree on original sin: the Council does not want the controversy over the Immaculate Conception to compromise its clear definition of original sin in all other human beings.

«Declarat tamen haec ipsa sancta Synodus, non esse suae intentionis, comprehendere in hoc decreto, ubi de peccato originali agitur, beatam et immaculatam Virginem Mariam, Dei Genitricem»
This same holy Synod declares, however, that it is not its intention to include in this decree, where original sin is treated, the blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God.

n. 162 — the privilege of Mary

The second Marian text of Trent defines that Mary has a singular privilege of grace: the original holiness that distinguishes her from all other human beings. It is an indirect but clear affirmation of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.

n. 163 — the Queenship of Mary

The third text defines the legitimate veneration of Mary, against the Protestant criticism that the cult of Mary would be idolatry. Trent distinguishes: adoration (latria) is due to God alone; the special veneration of Mary (hyperdulia) is legitimate and laudably Christian.

Julius III (1550-1555) — n. 164: on the Rosary

Pope Julius III, who presided over the second phase of Trent, confirmed the privileges of the Rosary and of the post-Tridentine Marian confraternities: a sign that the Counter-Reformation saw in the Rosary a privileged instrument of popular catechesis.

Paul IV (1555-1559), n. 165: “Cum quorundam”

The Constitution Cum quorundam (August 7, 1555) of Paul IV explicitly condemns those who deny the virginity of Mary: a response to some radical currents of the Reformation that called this dogma into question. It is the late Tridentine equivalent of the position of Ephesus 431.