22/08/2026
If Catholics believe that God alone should be worshipped, why do they sometimes carry, kiss, kneel before, or honour the remains of a saint? Isn’t that idolatry?
This is a fair question, especially for someone who is not familiar with Catholic teaching. Seeing Catholics carrying a saint’s skull or another relic during a religious celebration can easily make someone think, “Are they worshipping this object?”
To understand the Catholic answer, we first need to understand an important difference between worship and honour.
Catholics believe that worship belongs to God alone. The Church uses the word latria for this worship. It means recognizing God as the Creator, Lord, and the source of our salvation.
Catholics do not believe that Mary, Peter, Paul, the saints, statues, or relics should receive this kind of worship.
So, when Catholics celebrate Mass, they believe they are worshipping God not Mary, not a saint, and certainly not a human bone.
But someone may still ask: “If you kneel before a relic, kiss it, carry it in a procession, or place flowers around it, how can you say you are not worshipping it?”
The Catholic answer is the idea of veneration.
Catholics make a distinction between worship and honour:
- Worship is given to God alone.
- Veneration is the honour given to the saints.
- Relics are respected because of their connection to a saint who lived for God.
The important thing is that Catholics do not believe the relic itself is divine.
A saint's skull is still a human skull.
The bone is not God.
The saint is not God.
The saint was a human being created by God.
So why honour the relic?
Catholics would say that the remains belonged to a person who lived a life of faith and devoted himself or herself to God. The relic therefore reminds believers of that person's life, faith, sacrifice, and relationship with God.
Think about something from ordinary life.
Suppose your father passed away. You might keep his photograph, his Bible, his clothes, or his wedding ring. You might even kiss his photograph because it reminds you of him.
If someone asked, “Do you think that photograph is your father?” you would probably say, “No. It is only a photograph. But it reminds me of someone I love.”
Catholics use a similar idea when explaining relics.
They are not saying, “This bone is God.”
They are saying, “This belonged to someone who loved God and served Him, and this reminds us of that person's life and faith.”
Is there anything similar in the Bible?
Interestingly, the Bible gives us examples of God's people showing respect for the remains of important servants of God.
Consider Joseph.
Before Joseph died, he asked the Israelites to take his bones with them when God eventually brought them out of Egypt.
Genesis 50:25 says:
«“God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”»
Later, when the Israelites left Egypt, Moses remembered Joseph's request.
Exodus 13:19 says:
«“Moses took the bones of Joseph with him.”»
The Israelites did not believe Joseph's bones were God. They did not worship them. But they treated his remains with respect because of who Joseph was and what he represented.
There are also other biblical examples involving the remains of holy people and objects connected with God's servants.
For example, in 2 Kings 13:20–21, a dead man came back to life after his body touched the bones of the prophet Elisha. In Acts 19:11–12, extraordinary healings were associated with cloths and handkerchiefs that had touched Paul.
These passages do not mean that bones or objects are gods. Rather, they show that God can work through physical things connected with His servants.
So, why is a Catholic carrying and honouring the skull or bones of a saint not automatically considered worship?
Because Catholic teaching makes a clear distinction between worshipping God and honouring a saint or a relic.
The skull is not God.
The saint is not God.
The relic does not replace God.
The relic has no power apart from God.
God alone is worshipped.
The relic is honoured because it belonged to someone whom Catholics believe lived a life of holiness and faithfulness to God.
However, Catholics also recognize that people can misunderstand or misuse these practices.
A Catholic could treat a statue, medal, relic, or saint as if it had magical powers. That would be wrong according to Catholic teaching.
The Church does not teach that relics are magical objects.
A relic is not God.
A saint is not God.
Mary is not God.
Peter is not God.
A statue is not God.
A human bone is not God.
God alone is God.
Therefore, if someone believes that a relic has power by itself, apart from God, that is not what Catholic theology teaches.
So before calling a Catholic an idolater because you see a skull, bone, statue, or relic being honoured, it is important to first understand what the Catholic actually believes.
You may still disagree with the practice. You may believe that Scripture does not allow such practices. That is a discussion worth having.
But disagreement should come after understanding, not before it.
A sincere question deserves a sincere answer not an insult.
