Do Catholics worship the pope or Mary?

Answer 1

Catholics worship Jesus alone. Mary and the saints are only honored.

Many Catholics are misunderstood when they are thought to worship Mary more than Jesus. The Lord and Jesus are still number one, and Mary is respected well.

Catholics do NOT worship anyone other than God. Catholics ask Mary and the saints to pray FOR them just as someone would ask a friend to pray for them. Mary is venerated (given honor) but only God/Jesus/Holy Spirit (the Holy Trinity) is adored (worshipped).

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Answer

Catholics do not worship Mary. Mary is looked upon as a very holy person. A catholic may pray the rosary, or just pray to Mary, but not to worship her. Instead he/she is asking Mary's intercession, because they believe her prayer is more powerful than their own. They do the same for saints. ex: St. Francis is the patron saint of animals. If a Catholic has a dog dying he/she may pray to Francis to pray for their dog.

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Answer

Okay, first off we DO NOT WORSHIP MARY WE HONOR HER. We pray that Mary will intercede our prayers to God/Jesus. It is the same with saints. I mean who is God more likely to listen to? You are just a random person or the lady who delivered His Son. And as for Jesus, I think He is more likely to listen to his mama than a random person. Saints are people who did very good deeds in life and didn't sin a lot. They are people who try to be like Jesus as in love everyone be nice ect.

P.S. We also pray directly to God and Jesus a lot.

Sources: I am a Catholic.

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Answer

Catholics do not worship Mary but honor her as the Mother of God, as the Queen of Heaven, and as the greatest example of purity and discipleship. Catholics raise theirs prayers only to God while sometimes asking saints like Mary, the Queen of Saints, to echo their words in Heaven. Catholics know Mary as a mediator between humans and God since she was fully human and completely free from sin like her perfect Son, Jesus Christ. She would never accept worship. She loves God and is perfectly humble. As a perfect servant, any good word sent her way would be sent straight to God through her.

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Catholic AnswerThere is a semantic problem here, mostly in modern protestant influenced culture where the word "worship" is reserved to mean adoration. The word worship means "acknowledgment of another's worth, dignity, or superior position." In England, "worship" is used as a title in addressing or mentioning certain magistrates and others of high rank or station. In the Christian religion worship is either given to God, and then it is adoration, or it is given to angels and saints, and then it is called veneration. In Latin the term used is latria for God, and dulia for saints and angels. Latria is the veneration due to God alone for his supreme excellence and to show people's complete submission to him. It is essentially adoration. As absolute latria, it is given to God, alone. Dulia is reverence of a disciple for his master or of a servant for his lord. It is the honor given to the angels and saints as friends of God. Hyperdulia is the special veneration due to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is substantially less than the cultus latriabut it higher than the cultus dulia. As the Church understands the veneration of Mary, it is to be closely associated but subordinated to that of her Son. (mostly extracted from the Modern Catholic Dictionary by Fr. John Hardon, S.J.) Catholics worship Mary only in the non-divine dulia or hyperdulia manner described above. They only "worship" God in terms of adoration.

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By the way, an idolis any creature, figure, or representation (it can even be yourself) whom one gives divine honors, or becomes an end in itself without reference to God. There is no "idol worship" in the Catholic religion, this is strictly prohibited by God, Himself.

Answer 2

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Catholic AnswerCertainly, but we not offer offer either one the latria that is due to God:

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This can be a complicated answer for people raised in a protestant environment because, as with so many other words, they have redefined words. In this case, worship. Worship is a perfectly fine word, and may be used of Mary, the other saints, and the angels (and even the Pope to an extent: please see the definition of "worship" below) - if you are using the word as it was meant to be used, not as defined by modern protestants. Some evidence of this is seen in England where magristrates are addressed as 'Your Worship'. Now, as far as adoration and the veneration due to God alone, you are talking about what the Catholic Church defines as latria which is strictly forbidden for anything outside of God. This would be breaking the First Commandment. The 'worship,' if you will, of Mary, the Saints, and the angels is called dulia, or in case of the Blessed Virgin Mary it is known as hyperdulia. We may be absolutely certain that Catholics do NOT offer the adoration and veneration due to God alone to anyone outside of Him. And the hyperdulia that is offered to Mary is only due to her relationship to God, and what He has given to her.

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from Modern Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J. Doubleday & Co., Inc. Garden City, NY 1980

Worship. Acknowledgment of another's worth, dignity, or superior position. In religion, worship is given either to God, and then it is adoration, or to the angels and saints, and it is called veneration. Divine worship actually includes three principal acts, namely adoration (or the recognition of God's infinite perfection), prayer or the asking for divine help, and sacrifice or the offering of something precious to God. Worship as veneration also has three principal forms, whereby the angels and saints are honored for their sanctity, asked to intercede before the divine Majesty, and imitated in their love and service of God.

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Dulia. The reverence and homage paid to saints and angels on account of their supernatural excellence and union with God. To be distinguished from the adoration of God (latria) and the special honour paid to Mary (hyperdulia). Dulia is from the Greek word for servants (of God).

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Hyperdulia.

The special homage paid to Mary on account of her supreme dignity as Mother of God, and her consequent unique holiness and nearness to God. It recognizes that she is a creature, and so it differs from latria; but a creature holier and nobler than any angel or saint, and therefore worthy of a greater reverence than the dulia paid to them. It implies a loving reverence for God's mother and ours, and a confidence in her power and benevolence.