It's much easier to practice anti-Catholic bigotry when you can quote an anti-Catholic bigot.
It's kind of like anti-Americanism, it's much easier to pull of if you quote the New York Times than if you quote the National Review.
And before anybody reaches the wrong conclusion, I most certainly DID INTEND to compare anti-Catholic bigots to anti-Americans. This IS NOT to say that all Protestants are anti-Catholic bigots, because most are not.
excellent post. Almost all of the excessive Marian zealotry is done by individual Catholics on their own initiative. The fact that it gets lip service at high levels does not mean it is any more official than when Pat Robertson makes statements on the 700 club for Protestants. It is not in any way binding dogma. Mostly it is giving increasingly meaningless titles to Mary. Theotokos and Blessed Virgin have always sufficed for me.
Most of the actual stuff taught in the Church is just misunderstood by Protestants. The Immaculate Conception, for example. It just means that Mary was given special grace by Almighty God in light of what he planned for her and the world.