As a Catholic and a Pole I was raised honoring Mary because she carried and gave birth to Christ, many of our religions honor the mother. modern day thinking that we were not sexist I guess ;)
What about Catholics who do pray TO Mary?
Many Evangelicals think the word "pray" means "worship." So it makes sense that they think Catholics who "pray" to Mary actually "worship" her. Let's look up the word "pray" in the dictionary. Here is what Webster's says about the word pray:
(1) To utter petition to God ... (2) To make a fervent request: PLEAD (3) To beseech: implore (4) to make a devout or earnest request for.
http://www.davidmacd.com/catholic/mary_do_catholics_pray_to_her.htm#What%20about%20Catholics%20who%20do%20pray%20to%20Mary
Also:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=why+catholics+pray+to+mary&fr=FP-tab-web-t&toggle=1&ei=UTF-8