For example, regarding images of Christ, Mary, and the “saints,” the 16th-century Council of Trent declared: “Due honor and veneration is to be given them; not, however that any divinity or virtue is believed to be in them by reason of which they are to be venerated.” Why, then, the veneration? “Because the honor which is shown them,” explained the council, “is referred to the prototypes which they represent, so that by means of the images which we kiss and before which we uncover the heads and prostrate ourselves, we adore Christ and venerate the saints, whose likeness they bear.”

In Seville, Spain, a fanatical rivalry exists between the followers of the Virgin la Macarena and the Virgin de la Esperanza. In Chartres Cathedral, France, there are three Virgins​—Our Lady of the Pillar, Our Lady of the Crypt, and Our Lady of the “Belle Verriere”—​each having its own devotees. Apparently the worshipers are convinced that their image of the Madonna is somehow superior to the other images​—even though all three images represent the same person! Clearly, then, homage is being paid, not to what is represented, but to the images themselves.