That Mary Magdalene was a prostitute appears to be a theological myth. Instead, what appears to be true is that some men may have been threatened by her.
The gospel of Philip states: The saviour loved her more than all the disciples, and he kissed her often on her mouth. The rest of [the disciples were offended] . . . They said to him, "Why do you love her more than all of us?" The Savior answered and said to them, "Why do I not love you as (I love) her?"
In the gospel of Mary, the male apostles are shown to be hostile to Mary when she tries to cheer them by revealing some of the teachings that Jesus imparted to her alone before his death. It famously includes a confrontation between Mary and Peter, who asks the other disciples: "Did he really speak with a woman in private, without our knowledge? Shall we all turn and listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?" an incredulous Peter asks.
But in the canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John's), Mary Magdalene does not get much airplay. However, it is to her that the risen Jesus first appears.
Beginning in the fifth century, Catholic leaders began referring to Mary Magdalene as a prostitute, perhaps because they wanted to undermine the capacity of women to appeal to Mary Magdalene for legitimacy and leadership.
Apparently since 1969, the Catholic church began discreetly correcting its view of Mary Magdalene as a sinful woman in its church service books.
The Catholic church's misogyny was most blatant at the height of its power. Pope Innocent VIII, issued a bull then, targetting girls and women for torture and death. Deploring the prevalence of witches, he empowered two Dominican monks, Heinrich Kraemer and Jacob Sprenger, to launch a holy war against 'this satanic sect'. Kraemer and Sprenger were ordered to give every assistance by bishop, priest, and lay authority. As guidelines for the monstrous pogrom of witches that was to ensue, the two 'holy' brothers produced a primer, The Malleus maleficorum which went into details as gruesome as possible to enable dutiful inquisitors to force confessions from a tortured body. It became the standard manual for witch-hunting and witch extermination.
