Question: What do you mean by "Mary worship?"

Question: Mary worship? The Catholic Church teaches that to worship any person, place, or thing outside of God is idolatry, including the worship of Mary, which is stupid! For Catholics, Jesus Christ is our Lord, Savior, best friend, and our God. Not Mary. Having said that, if Jesus Christ is not your master, those other titles are just a bunch of words. Apparently, since you spread confusion and division, Jesus Christ is not your master....

Response: Your argument is not with us. After Pope John Paul II was shot, it was not to God that he prayed nor the name of Jesus upon which he called. Instead, he kept repeating, “Mary, my mother!” Vatican loudspeakers broadcast the prayers of the rosary. After he recovered, he gave Mary all the glory for saving his life. and made a pilgrimage to Fatima to publicly thank her.

In his book, The Glories of Mary, Italian Bishop Alphonsus Liguori explained how God gave Mary to mankind as the “Gate of Heaven.” He was quoting Saint Bonaventure, “No one can enter Heaven unless by Mary (italics added), as though through a door.” In his book, Liguori affirms that Mary rules over one-half of the kingdom of God. Consequently, Liguori said that people should pray to Mary as a mediator and look to her as an object of trust for answered prayer. The book goes so far as to say that there is no salvation outside of Mary. In response, some Catholics would argue that these are extreme views and not representative of official Catholic Church teaching. Instead of being declared a heretic, however, Liguori was canonized as a saint, and the Catholic Church declared him to be a “doctor of the Church” (a person whose teachings carry weight and authority). Finally, the book is officially promoted by the Catholic Church, and his teachings apparently have influenced a number of popes.

One of the unrealized goals of John Paul II was to pronounce  Mary as “co-redemptrix” with Christ, which, for all practical purposes, acknowledged her as deity. Many Catholics annually present such a petition for this recognition. Pope Benedict XV declared of Mary that “[O]ne can justly say that with Christ, she herself redeemed mankind” (Encyclical Intersodalici, 1918). Pope Pius IX said, “Our salvation is based upon the holy Virgin...so that if there is any hope and spiritual healing for us we receive it solely and uniquely from her” (Encyclical, February 2, 1849). On the contrary, the Bible tells us “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tm 2:5).

Your argument becomes more disingenuous when considering countries that are primarily Catholic. For example, many a Catholic has commented that, “Catholics in Mexico (and throughout Latin America), in their devotion to Mary, do things that we would only do when worshiping God.” Official Catholic teaching says that God has exalted Mary in heavenly glory as Queen of Heaven and earth (Catechism, 966). Mary is declared worthy of praise with special devotion (Catechism, 971, 2675).

There is a growing Marian component to Catholicism that is quite militant about recognizing the fact that “veneration,” by definition and in practice, is no different from “worship,” which, according to Scripture, is only possible with God. For years, we at TBC received Marian publications (which contributed to our research). Your argument is with them and the huge numbers of likeminded Catholics. 

And, sir, regarding your final comment, the confusion and division is already here, and it is honestly and objectively plain.