>with Exodus 20:4
>
>"You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of
>what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the
>water under the earth."
>
>5: “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the
>LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the
>fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth
>generations of those who hate Me."
>
>No snark, I'm a former catholic and that's one of the many
>reasons that I bounced

Sure, that's a valid question. What is an idol? Or, more importantly, how are idols presented in this passage of Scripture? They are replacements for God. They substitute God for an image. This is an obvious violation of the First Commandment.

The Catholic Church does not present images, statues, etc as idols. They do not replace God, nor substitute for God, but instead point to God. Look a little further down in Exodus to 25:18. God is asking Moses himself to carve an image!

Further, the Saints in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary above all others, are venerated as canonized examples of living in God's friendship. And in praying to them, we are simply communicating with brothers and sisters who are close to God, something highly recommended throughout Scripture. The tricky thing with the English language is that prayer to saints and prayer to the Lord use the same word-- "prayer." However, the former is a request. A "please pray (latter definition) for me".