[Alex Murphy]

In all those hundreds of years, never, not once, ever, has any Catholic used the word, "worship" to describe his relationship with the Blessed Mother of God, who is Mary. NEVER!.....We never adore Mary, or that we worship her. No Catholic has EVER said that Mary is divine, god, or all-powerful. I'm not saying the Pope has never approved such things. I'm saying they have never occured, not once, never

With all due respect and sincerity, I'd bet that, if given twenty-four uninterrupted hours, I could find at least one Catholic FReeper who has publicly said/done otherwise, in the last year alone.

I know what you're trying to say, and while I still strongly disagree with the practice overall, those distinctions are not lost on me, and I will be mindful of what you've described regarding your own practices. Yours would be the route I'd follow should I ever swim the Tiber. But in mine and others' experiences, not every Catholic is as cautious as you are. Some practice, and even encourage, full-blown idolatry and IMO blasphemy re Mary, while remaining in full communion with Mother Church.

[GCC Catholic]

With all due respect and sincerity, I'd bet that, if given twenty-four uninterrupted hours, I could find at least one Catholic FReeper who has publicly said/done otherwise, in the last year alone.

You probably can, but what would this prove other than that there are Catholics who misunderstand what the Church teaches? The Church is quite glad to correct those who promote the excesses and outright idolatry that you mention. (The now-suspended Fr. Nicholas Gruner of The Fatima Crusader fame is a fine example.) And good, knowledgeable Catholics should do likewise in correcting their brethren.

The differences between dulia, hyperdulia, and latria have been explained on these forums numerous times. I'm glad that you acknowledge that you understand the distinctions (even if you don't necessarily agree). I just hope that others do likewise.