Who said I was Protestant?
There’s no mystery to salvation. The Catholic church mystifies it to ensure the church’s power. A Catholic must rely on the church for salvation.
Mary was nothing more than a flesh and blood woman born into sin and who died a non-virgin. She doesn’t have anymore power than the keyboard I used to type this reply. The saints have even less power, like my USB flashdrive.
You sure sound Protestant to me, so I can’t imagine what other confession you might be, but sorry if I misstated it. The Church provides a clear roadmap of sacramental grace established by Christ for the benefit of all subsequent generations. It may be possible to obtain salvation outside the visible Church through following the law of God written in one’s heart, but it’s a much more murky thing. Best to tread the clear and narrow path to Heaven marked out clearly by our Savior. It’s not a question that one “must rely on the church” for salvation. The Church and her sacraments, instituted by Christ, are a clear means of receiving God’s grace to rely on Christ for one’s salvation.