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I am Catholic and there isn't much to disagree with in your post. The Pope, the bishops, the cardinals, the priests and the saints were and are all human beings. Just like you, each has been given a specific calling and either lived up to their office or did not. We venerate those who have given everything for the Gospel.

We do believe that the office of the Pope is special and has been tasked with holding the Church firm to the true teachings of Christ. Peter was the first rock as assigned by Jesus, and others have followed in his footsteps, taking on the keys of the kingdom as Christ's Vicar and Prime Minister of the Davidic Kingdom.

What I did find objectionable in your post was the suggestion that we see the saints as "deities". No, they are humans like us who, having walked closely with Jesus on Earth, have continued this walk in their heavenly reward. Beatification is an identification for the Church to know that these people are examples of Christian living worthy of emulation and respect. We pray to them to intercede on our behalf in exactly the same way we ask our family, friends and prayer chains to pray for us. They are alive in Christ and part of the same Church to which we all belong as the Body of Christ.

BTW, who authorized any body of human judges to decide who is a "saint" on the basis of humanly devised criteria of eligibility? The Holy Scriptures of Christianity provide no basis whatsoever for any such institutionalized procedure for conferring "sainthood." The saints of God are those who, by His grace, have been granted the gift of faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrificial atonement for the sins of the world. Thus, by the grace of God I am a Christian saint, even as I am yet a sinner, as the Bible attests, and the Roman Curia had nothing at all to do with it. Period. SDG

Thanks for the explanation. I am not familiar with the intricacies of the Catholic Church. However, I do understand the importance of the original church and the preservation of the same.

Just that it always seemed to be contradictory to me for Catholics to create statues and symbols of once humans that they may have never known and then pray to them.

Conflicts with "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

Yes, they may not be treated as a god, but why not just pray directly to God? Why pray through saints, etc.?

Sorry, even if you explain it to me, I may never understand. And I apologize if I have offended you.

Regarding those cited in the article who claime that reading a novel has caused them to lose their faith, or become confused about what to believe, if it does come down to a standoff between "us" and "them," we in the Christian world are undeniably better off with the confused ones on the side of "them." Some people, it's been said, are just too stupid to survive.