Why do some non-Catholics think Catholics worship idols and Mary?

Question

Sweet Suzy - I have been to Mass many times and I have never seen any idol worship going on.

Answer 1

I have seen people in catholic churches pray before statues as if the statue they are praying to IS that person it represents. I have seen my mother in law kiss the feet of the mary statue in her house.... what would you call it if you dont call it worshippin an idol or mary? i have never said 'all' catholics do that... but I have seen some that honestly do... they travel for hundreds of miles and lay flowers at the feet of statues that 'made it thru a terrible disaster' unscathed....

Answer 2

Because many Catholics say "praying to a saint" when they really mean asking a saint to pray with them. To people who don't have that concept of sainthood in their religion (most Evangelicals don't) it sounds like you are litterally praying to the saint as a God -- in otherwords, that you are worshipping the saints. These people will define worshipping anything but God as idolatry. Its a perfectly reasonable and understandable mistake when you think about it. Catholics just need to be more careful about their choice of words -- these people get these ideas directly from Catholics by way of an honest misunderstanding.

Answer 3

It just strikes me as evil, this not uncommon attempt to diminish Mary's status and the unceasing accusations against Catholics of trying to raise her status to that of God's. There's something very sinister and ugly in it, and I find it offensive. We Catholics take great care in pointing out that "worship" in the sense of latria 3 is GOD'S alone -- even to the point of having separate terms for the honor and adoration due to God as opposed to the honor and veneration of the Saints -- including His greatest Saint, Mary.


Her soul magnifies the Lord (Luke 1:46-55)!

Answer 4

Hello,

The point is some don't think. They just parrot what their preachers say and don't go to masses or catholic services and investigate or educate themselves.

Cheers,

Michael

PS For Muslim by choice, those who worship anyone but God are commiting grave sins. As your religion sees it, Christ is not God but another prophet. Therefore in your eyes worshiping Christ would be as grave a sin as worshiping Mary. Well I guess all us Christians are in the same boat but I applaud you for your honesty.

Answer 5

America is mainly a Protestant nation, it always has been. When the first Catholics came over to America, they were persecuted. One of the things that religious leaders said about Catholics was that they worshiped saints. This belief still exists today.

Answer 6

It seems that people develop this "us and them" thing. It's the Catholics against the Protestants the blacks against the whites the Conservatives against the republicans. The Atheist against the Christians, day shift against night shift. It is a truly worldly silly game we play. I try to avoid it at all cost.

Answer 7

As a former Catholic, I saw the idolatry first hand. I grew up in a Catholic family and went to a Catholic church. I knew saying repetitious prayers every week could not possibly please God. I knew saying 5 Hail Mary's and 5 Our Fathers could not cleanse me from sin. What does this practice teach children? When they are bad they are punished and made to say prayers? Prayer is a precious gift from God, it is a blessing, not a punishment. Gods wrath has fallen on the Catholic church, Pedophilia is running rampant, gay Bishops and law suits have totally defiled the Catholic church. I believe this is a direct curse from God Almighty, due to the sinful things going on and being taught in this church.
God warns us not to add to His Word, or take away from it. The Catholic church is guilty of doing both. By mixing Gods Word with Human wisdom the Catholic church has fallen from Grace. When I was 19 years old I rejected Catholicism and I embraced becoming Born Again. I am not trying to be cruel to Catholics, I simply am telling you my experience with the Catholic church and what I see going on in this church today.
God Bless All.

Answer 8

Because I belong to a family where 95% of my relatives are Catholics, and I've been on each and every wedding mass of relatives married at the Catholic Church. I've been there, I've seen it with my very own eyes. NO ONE TOLD ME...... Yes, you do worship idols and Mary is more important than Jesus himself.

Answer 9

Maybe my Catholic friend is misinformed (she was catholic her whole life) but she adamantly defends worship of Mary. I say: I believe Mary should be honored and respected to the utmost degree, but not worshipped because only God should be worshipped. But she would not agree with that. She says Mary should be worshipped as God is, because she is the "mother of God"

Answer 10

No disrespect but I think it may be that you say "Hail Mary". Some people see hailing as a form of worship. For instance in Wicca...we say "Hail (insert deity here)" and we are worshiping that deity and giving them praise.

I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you in the past. But for some, they just follow what they believe and that automatically passes their judgment to be the right one.

Bright Blessings,
Candles

Answer 11

Instead of asking us Catholics our beliefs they believe stuff from websites like Jesus is Lord and Chick tracts, and by believing websites such as these they can continue to disregard what we Catholics say regarding our church and continue to bash us. It is a shame that when they fail to realize when they bash the Catholic Church, they are bashing Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ established the Catholic Church in 33AD, but the dont want to admit that either.