I had frankly tired of this post and hadn’t followed it since yesterday. You are obviously of the same mind as the one who started this polemic yesterday. It is those who use the Bible as the book of quotes for purposes of division and hate who will ultimately fail in regressing us to the divisions of the past. You are doing the same by twisting the meaning of our catechism. I use the name untwist because I am used to pointing these distortions out to liberals, not presumed friends on FR.
I don’t need to tell you since you bothered to poke into the catholic catechism, that if you wish to understand Mary’s place in the church it is explained in great detail in Catechisms 964 - 975. Since you want to stir this pot and try to reopen old wounds by using distortion, look at Catechism 972:
“After speaking of the church, her origin, mission, and destiny, we can find no better way to conclude than by looking to Mary. In her we contemplate what the Church already is in her mystery on her own “pilgrimage of faith,” and what she will be in the homeland at the end of her journey. There, “in the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity,”, in the communion of all the saints, the church is awaited by the one she venerates as Mother of her Lord and as her own mother.”
I know you don’t want to accept that our belief is that Mary’s place in the faith is as Mother of our Lord. As such, she is Mother of our Church. I understand that you are a far smarter catholic than I am, but I can only tell you what is real and experienced in my 47 years of faith. She indeed serves as a model, an icon if you wish, of what faith and sacrifice are all about. We follow her model of veneration - she venerates God, in the persons of the Holy Trinity. We do not venerate Mary, we do work to follow the model and venerate our Lord through her example.
Let me just add another important point. Whatever faith we choose, or no faith, we as believers in conservative principles have some very critical problems at hand. I believe that the unity of conservatives that sees the way to electing strong protestants like Reagan, who brought us the great catholic supreme court justice like Scalia, followed by other protestants like the Bushes who brought catholics Thomas, Roberts and Alito, are our hope. Let the divisive Clintons bring us the Breyers and Ginsbergs and their ilk. We need to embrace what brings us together. The islamofascists really don’t care about protestant vs. catholic doctrines. We’re all infidels in their eyes and they want us all dead. I believe in the best of what we are as a society and this thread is a real disappointment because it only highlights the worst.
My best wishes to you.
The basis of your argument is specious as there is no catholic doctrine or practice that includes “worship” or “veneration” of Mary as part of our faith.
I have no idea what caused you to accuse me of distortion and then morph into a political diatribe.
You were mistaken. Catholic doctrine does call for the "veneration" of Mary. It's as simple as that.
If you want to discuss politics you are on the wrong thread. Goodbye.