Dear Sir,
I have been a very faithful weekly reader of your great publication for the past 12 years and I continue to look forward to purchasing it every Friday in Chapala.
I have noticed that at times and most recently in the October 7-13 issue you mention (La Zapopana´s homecoming …) that a Catholic statue is “adored. ¨ In the second paragraph it states that the statue is “venerated” which is quite correct. In the third paragraph of the story it states that “local Catholics adore La Zapopana.”
No Christian group that I know of would “adore” or ¨worship¨ anyone other than God. Catholics honor saints and the Virgin Mary under her various titles but they see statues and pictures as someone might see a picture or statue of their own relative. They put the picture in a place of honor and may even celebrate birthdays and anniversaries with the photo present—but it is just a photo, a reminder—not the actual person. This can be better explained by looking it up in the official Catechism of the Catholic Church which can be accessed online free or purchased in a multitude of languages, even on eBay or other shopping sites throughout the world.
James Flynn