i consider myself irreligious, but my family (at least on my father's side) has been traditionally Episcopalian and Lutheran (given my Scandinavian heritage), so i suppose i would put myself down as mainline Protestant:
1-Do you believe Catholics are Christian?
of course
aren't all religions, in their own way, cults that 'made it'? i would say all of Christianity is a cult, with many sub-sects and denominations. i would also consider Judaism as a cult, along with Islam.
but to answer your question with the commonly accepted definition of 'cult', i would answer 'no'.
i know that Mexican Catholics worship the Virgin of Gualdalupe as their patron saint and mother of Christ, so, though i understand they are worshipping God through Mary, from an outsider's point of view it certainly looks that way. not that it bothers me of course -i have done similar when i lived in Japan, paying respects to various deities in Shinto shrines.
in the end though, are we not worshipping the one god in all his manifestations, images, and names? i believe so, and that is what ultimately unites all religions no matter how many gods and goddesses they may worship and honor -there is no such thing as there being one true faith or one true path to heaven or enlightenment.
no, but at the same time, i am wary about whether they look up to him far too often. i question sometimes to whom do they owe their allegiance to in the end when the 'rubber hits the road' -the Pope, or your country? and i apply this same line of questioning to those with dual nationalities. when i see Pope John Paul II interfering in the internal affairs of other nations, by demanding that Catholics follow his precepts and vote accordingly, it makes me all the more suspicious about the loyalty of Catholics, especially the more devout ones.
