Nothing puzzles me (being kind here) more than someone who admits he has never been to mass more than a few times in his life, so would not be unreasonable to ascertain that he has a limited understanding of the mass and of Catholicism in general.
If you had only been around guns once in your life, would you think it a fair to make sweeping unreasonable statements about gun owners? You can't know or love anything that you don't first put some effort into understanding or into getting to know.
If you make an honest effort to understand the mass, you will also come to understand that Catholics don't worship the pope. You might even come to feel more warmth. I know beyond any doubt that you would be very welcome at our Church, and its hard not to like people who sincerely like you. To me the Church has been like a mother who has led to me to my father and lord, to the one real and true love. It is a life long process that will never end, it is a two way street, but as in anything else, you have to be willing to take a first step.
C'mon man, you really think we worship the pope? You may have loved your father, that doesn't mean you worship him more than God. In the people we love, we always try to emulate what is good about them, we may have a great and sincere admiration for them, look up to them, but that is far from worship.
