[metmom]

Are proddys really THAT thick?? Catholics do not worship Mary. We venerate Her, we do not worship her.

[Kolokotronis]

You know, m-mom, I don't see how what CC said was splitting hairs. To me, and I have spoken English all my life, there is a very real distinction between veneration and worship. In Greek, moreover, it is crystal clear. When the 7th Ecumenical Council directed that Christians use icons, in explaining why, how and what was to be done, the Council Fathers said:

"We define also that they should be kissed and that they are an object of honorable veneration, but not of real worship, which is reserved for Him Who is the subject of our faith and is proper for the divine nature."

Honorable veneration in Greek is "Tιμιτικι Προσκυνισις" and worship is "Λατρεία". They are, at least in Greek, entirely different concepts. At any rate, the Latin and Orthodox praxis regarding the Most Holy Theotokos is exactly the same, Tιμιτικι Προσκυνισις as opposed to Λατρεία.