I witnessed a woman go up to the Mary statue and kneel down to pray. To Mary. You can call it veneration, but it's still worship. Again, it may well not be what the majority of Catholic churches do or teach, but this one did.
There you go again.
You are not listening. Certainly honor is given to Mary, she is due it. Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother. That would seem to imply Jesus honored his mother, should we not do the same.
As for your idea that This Catholic Church taught to worship Mary, that is ludicrous. If it did it is not Catholic. Rather than bringing your biases to the area, I suggest you read and learn what the Church teaches. It would do you a great deal of good.
Look at it this way. If you kneel to pray with the Bible in your hand, you could be seen as worshiping the book, not necessarily the ideas, which are not visible. If you kneel to pray in front of your bed, are you worshiping the bed. Your logic says yes. Catholics would say no. Rather the Bible in prayer, statues in prayer, the Blessed Sacrament serve as tools which assist in prayer directing our worship and adoration to Christ.
How do you know she was praying to Mary? Were you there listening to her? Were you in her head reading her mind? If not, one would not want to be presumptous to know what someone else is thinking. But if you are that enlightened on your walk and you know what is in others hearts and minds when others pray, well, that is something.
Here is what likely happened, but I won't presume to know. A woman went to a statue of Mary, knelt to pray, and asked Mary for her prayers. Maybe it sounded like this, but I am only speculating, for I don't know, "Hail Mary, Full of Grace, Blessed Are Thou Amongst Women and Blessed is the Fruit of Thy Womb, Jesus" (That sounds a lot like something in the Bible). "Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Sounds like she is asking for someone's spiritual support, like one would ask a Pastor or a friend.