Statues, paintings, et al. are not idols. They are presented as a glorification of God and the work He has done in the lives of the saints, most especially the Blessed Virgin Mary. We no more pray to these images than you think good thoughts about the deceased when you behold their picture.
That came out wrong. Should be:
We no more pray to these images than you pray to your deceased relatives when you behold their photograph and reminisce.
see 166. The prohibition is against making them, not just bowing down to them.
Yep. Pretty much fall into the category of illustrations, sometimes very cherished, but we know exactly what they are. And not a whole lot of difference than most people of faith have in their study materials. Illustrations.
I look through pics of my family members, and may see one of my mother, who has passed away, and feel overcome, and say, "O Momma, I wish you could see...." That certainly doesn't mean that I think that picture is HER, or that I am performing ancestor worship.
I look at my pics of Jesus, because it helps me think of him as the man-god who walked the earth 33 or so years, instead of just a vague idea.
I like my picture of St. Jean Vianney, because it reminds me of a very loving man who worked very, very hard for the glory of God.
Sometimes these are ways to illustrate particular concepts, like Jesus as the Sacred Heart, which emphasises the great love Jesus has for the whole world.
They are no more idols than the illustrations in many Bible study books for kids, or illustrated plates in Bibles, or Christian identity logos, like the icthys.