[Campion]

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

St. Paul is speaking hyperbolically here. Jesus didn't sin. Babies haven't sinned (because they can't). Persons who are severely mentally disabled haven't sinned (again, they can't).

If you look at the context of the verse, what St. Paul is saying is not an observation on the universality of sin, but an observation on the universal need for a Savior. And if we understand it that way, Mary is not exempt from that universal need.

[armydoc]

Babies haven't sinned (because they can't). Persons who are severely mentally disabled haven't sinned (again, they can't).

I beg to differ. A clear, mature, adult mind is not a prerequisite to sinning. Our very human nature is sinful. Our actions, from the moment of our birth, are sinful. Psalm 51:5(NIV) "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." My kids have all shown overt sinful acts from an early age. Open defiance. Greed. Conversely, a baby or feeble-minded adult can posess faith. Witness the in-utero John the Baptist's display of faith when the in-utero Saviour passed by. We sin from birth because we are sinners from birth. It is our nature to the core. Lack of cognitive recognition of the sinfulness of an act does not negate its sinfulness. Now, a better argument is if a young child or a feeble-minded adult can have a "saving faith". I believe they can (again, I cite the John the Baptist example).