Ask a modern, well taught Catholic who is the Saviour and he will likely tell you that it is Jesus. But scratch the surface and he will probably tell you that the best way to Jesus is through Mary.

The place of Mary in Roman Catholicism is largely ignored by modern Protestants who are blinded by the false dream of ecumenical unity. Indeed, in America, promotion of the Mary myth is kept low key.

In countries where Catholicism dominates the culture, however, she is the most prominent spiritual figure.

Professor Cesar Vidal teaches at a university in Spain and observes first hand the influence of this goddess idol. In his book, "The Myth of Mary", he traces the modern worship of the Virgin Mary all the way back to its roots in pre-Christian paganism.

When cornered, the American Catholic will reply, "But we don't worship her. We only honor her." Vidal replies with quotes from the Vatican II Council documents and the 1994 universal catechism.

Vatican II states: "Mary, the Mother of God...is united with indissoluble bonds to the saving work of her Son."

In another place: "Because after her assumption into heaven she has not set aside this saving function, but continues to obtain for us, with her multiple intercession, the gifts relative to eternal salvation."

The same documents declare that she is "called on in the Church with the titles of Advocate, Assistant, Helper, Mediator."

Many deceived Protestants today believe that these blasphemous concepts are just remnants of Dark Age ideas and have been repudiated by the modern Catholic church.

But Vatican II Council ended in the 1960s and the new Catechism of the Catholic Church was just released world wide in 1994 and is supposed to set the standard for the next hundred years. It states that Mary was united to the Son "in the work of salvation...from the moment of the virginal conception of Christ until his death."

Rick Jones, in his book, Understanding Roman Catholicism, points out that the new Catechism reaffirms the Vatican II documents: "Many faithful Catholics fervently pray to the virgin Mary, believing that she is the mediator who intercedes on their behalf before the Father: 'Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.' (Catechism page 252, section 969)."

Another current proof of how Mary is viewed by ordinary Catholics appears in the Roman Catholic weekly family newspaper, Our Sunday Visitor. In a September 12, 1993 article on Mary it states: "Sprinkled throughout the Catholic liturgical year are feasts celebrating the Blessed Virgin Mary's role in human salvation and how she continues to intercede for people at God's right hand."

At the grass roots, Roman Catholics are taught very little about Jesus. The emphasis is on Mary and her ability to "intercede" for the sinner with a distant Jesus and an angry God.