BTS says:
So praying to a Saint to request their intercessions for one is in no way contradictory to Christ's role in our salvation. Saints don't save. I think this is part of your misunderstanding. Some non-catholics hear "praying to Mary", for example, means you are praying to her instead of to Christ. Semantics so often seems to be a problem.
Oh if only the mis-informed and semantics were the problem as you falsely claim:
OTHER POPES HAVE SAID THAT MARY IS CO-REDEEMER, MEDIATOR, ADVOCATE
Many popes have exalted Mary as mediator and advocate. Examples are Leo XIII (1878-1903), Pope Pius X (1903-1914), and Pius XII (1939-1958). During a radio message concluding the Jubilee of the Redemption, April 28, 1935, Pius XI (1922-1939) gave the title Co-redemptrix to Mary.
One of the respected Roman Catholic authorities on Mariology is Alphonsus Mary de Liguori (1696-1787), who was canonized as a saint by Pope Gregory XVI on May 26, 1839. He was declared a "Doctor of the Church" in 1871 by Pope Pius IX. Liguori has his own special day on the Roman Catholic calendar, that being August 1st. On this day, the official prayer to be made by Catholic people on behalf of Liguori asks God that they may be "taught by his admonitions."
Liguori, or "Saint" Alphonsus, wrote on many subjects, but he is particularly famous for his admonitions in regard to the Catholic Mary. In 1750, at age 54, he published The Glories of Mary, a book which has been translated into many languages and which has wielded vast influence in the Roman Catholic Church.
Some will doubtless argue that it is unfair to use a 200-year-old book to define Catholic doctrine. Not so. Liguori's book is authoritative today, and it does represent official Catholic doctrine. Liguori's works underwent a rigorous examination and received the unqualified approval of the Catholic Church. His works were tested 20 times by the rules of Urban VIII and Benedict XIV, and the resulting judgment was that they did not contain "one word worthy of censure." Liguori's book The Glories of Mary was pronounced to be without error by Pope Pius VII in 1803 and by Pope Leo XII in 1825. Pope John Paul II has often acknowledged Liguori's deep influence in his own affection for Mary.
Pius VII (1800-1823) was so infatuated with Liguori that he had his grave opened and had three fingers of his right hand cut off and taken to Rome, saying, "Let those three fingers that have written so well for the honor of God, of the Blessed Virgin and of religion, be carefully preserved and sent to Rome" ("Some Preliminary Observations by the Editor," The Glories of Mary, St. Louis: Redemptorist Fathers, 1831, p. 20).
Liguori's book continues to be published today with the official imprimatur [Latin meaning "Let it be printed"] of various Catholic authorities. The edition we have has the Imprimatur of Cardinal Hayes of Brooklyn, New York, and is sanctioned by Patrick Murray, Superior General of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, Jan. 1, 1931. Chapter titles include Mary our Queen, Mary our Life, Mary our Hope, Mary our Help, MARY OUR MEDIATRESS, MARY OUR ADVOCATE, Mary our Guardian, Mary our Salvation, and Mary's Immaculate Conception. Consider an excerpt from this book which does not contain ONE WORD worthy of censure by the Catholic Church. The following quotation from the section on Mary, our Mediatress, gives a taste of the entire book--
"St. Antoninus says the same thing: 'All graces that have ever been bestowed on men, all came through Mary.' And on this account she is called the moon, according to the following remark of St. Bonaventure: 'As the moon, which stands between the sun and the earth, transmits to this latter whatever it receives from the former, so does Mary pour out upon us who are in this world the heavenly graces that she receives from the divine sun of justice. Again, the holy Church calls her 'the happy gate of heaven;' for as the same St. Bernard remarks: 'as every mandate of grace that is sent by a king passes through the palace-gates, so does every grace that comes from heaven to the world pass through the hands of Mary.' St. Bonaventure says that Mary is called 'the gate of heaven, because no one can enter that blessed kingdom without passing through her'" (The Glories of Mary, pp. 159-160).
The Glories of Mary is filled with citations from various "saints" of the Catholic Church. Its authority is of the very highest order.
VATICAN COUNCILS HAVE GIVEN MARY THE TITLE CO-REDEEMER, MEDIATOR, ADVOCATE
Vatican Council II, which was held in the mid-1960s, also referred to Mary as Mediator and Advocate. Note the following citation:
"Joined to Christ the head and in communion with all his saints, the faithful must in the first place reverence the memory of the glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ... Because of the gift of sublime grace she far surpasses all creatures, both in heaven and on earth... The IMMACULATE VIRGIN PRESERVED FREE FROM ALL STAIN OF ORIGINAL SIN, WAS TAKEN UP BODY AND SOUL INTO HEAVENLY GLORY, when her earthly life was over, and EXALTED BY THE LORD AS QUEEN OVER ALL THINGS, that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords (cf. Apoc. 19:16) and conqueror of sin and death" (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, chap. 8, I, 52,53; II, 59, pp. 378,381- 382).
"Rightly, therefore, the Fathers see Mary not merely as passively engaged by God, but as freely cooperating in the work of man's salvation through faith and obedience. FOR AS ST. IRENAEUS SAYS, SHE BEING OBEDIENT, BECAME THE CAUSE OF SALVATION FOR HERSELF AND FOR THE WHOLE HUMAN RACE. Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert with him in their preaching ...' death through Eve, life through Mary.' This UNION OF THE MOTHER WITH THE SON IN THE WORK OF SALVATION is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death" (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, chap. 8, II, 56, pp. 380-381).
"Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home. THEREFORE THE BLESSED VIRGIN IS INVOKED IN THE CHURCH UNDER THE TITLES OF ADVOCATE, HELPER, BENEFACTRESS, AND MEDIATRIX" (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, chap. 8, II, 62, pp. 382-383).
The last time a pope made a dogma about Mary was on November 1, 1950, when Pope Pius XII stated that Mary was "preserved free from all guilt of original sin," "taken up body and soul into heaven," and "exalted as Queen of the Universe."
On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX issued the bull Ineffabilis Deus, which proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
Those who love the Bible and receive it as the sole authority for faith REJECT Rome for its blasphemous false doctrines which exalt Mary to a position which belongs exclusively to Jesus Christ. Furthermore, Mary is not the Queen of Heaven nor can she hear and answer prayers. On the other hand, those who are not convinced already that Rome is a false church will not be convinced no matter what new thing the pope proclaims in his alleged infallibility.
