You perhaps have never seen any of their prayers? I’ll give you just one which is taught to the young to get them into the “groove” of the Catholic faith. Notice who the prayer is to.
A CHILD'S PRAYER TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
O Most Holy Virgin Mother,
we listen with grief to the complaints
of your Immaculate Heart
surrounded with the thorns placed therein
at every moment by the blasphemies
and ingratitude of ungrateful humanity.
We are moved by the ardent desire of loving you as Our Mother
and of promoting a true devotion to your Immaculate Heart.
We therefore kneel before you
to manifest the sorrow we feel
for the grievances that people cause you,
and to atone by our prayers and sacrifices
for the offenses with which they return return your love.
Obtain for them and for us the pardon of so many sins.
Hasten the conversion of sinners
that they may love Jesus
and cease to offend the Lord,
already so much offended.
Turn your eyes of mercy toward us,
that we may love God with all our heart on earth
and enjoy Him forever in heaven.
Amen. (http://www.catholicdoors.com/prayers/english5/p03093.htm)
Notice also who they are kneeling before and how many things they have asked Mary to do for them. Oh they are praying to Mary and the Saints and don’t let them tell you they don’t. There are many of their prayers listed online that show them to be disingenuous when they tell you they don’t.
>> But rather they are asking for a strong advocate for their prayers to God.<<
They think there is a better “advocate” than the one we are told is the “only” advocate?
Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
I think dissing Christ and thinking someone else can do it better isn’t going to work out well for them.
We are told to go directly to the Father in Jesus name.
Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
I want to interject, as a Catholic, that it is absolutely true that we pray to Mary and the Saints and all this wishy washy nonsense about only asking them to pray for us is ridiculous and I wish my co-religionists would knock it off.
While it is true that I am not a Catholic, like you they are my brothers in Christ.
I will not join you in painting them as propagandists.