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Fact here is that Catholics do not worship Mary, but yes, they do worship the Child Jesus she holds.Not necessarily true.

My family's dearest friend is a devout Catholic and her devotion to the Virgin is front and center of her faith.

If I say, as I did recently, that humans would be astounded at the overwhelming love that God has for us, she immediately inserts...and that of the Holy Mother.

Many Catholics may make the proper distinction about Mary...but many accept the syncretistic insertion of goddess worship (be that Diana, Semiramis, Artemis, Astarte...) into the Catholic faith.

Tell me the Rosary isn't about Mary front and center?

Flame if you must, but why can't we have an honest discussion of this detail.

why can't we have an honest discussion of this detail.

It might lead to someone suggesting that Mary had other children (Jesus had half-brothers and possibly half-sisters), was impure and needed the Sacrifice on the cross just like the rest of us and should receive no worship, adoration or special attention from the rest of us. Just like I don't pray to or adore Lazarus or Nicodemus or any of the other characters in Jesus' life. So NO to any honest discussion or they may get sad.

Flame if you must, but why can't we have an honest discussion of this detail.

I'm not a flame-thrower; I maintain an old-fashioned
adherence to civilized discourse as if my opponent were a
fine person slightly mistaken.

I don't think you mean to characterize the Catholic faith
based on anecdotal evidence of a family friend?

The Catholic faith is found in its Catechism, as it has been
for 1500 years, and there one will find that Mary is venerated,
but not worshipped, as Catholics worship only the Trinitarian God.
The Angel Gabriel, for the record, addressed her as "Full of Grace"
(Hail, Full of Grace...), which the Church interprets
as without Original Sin.

The 4 Mysteries of the Rosary run through the life of Jesus:
The Joyful Mysteries cover Christ's birth up until his parents
found him in the temple discussing with the elders. The
Luminous Mysteries cover Christ's Baptism, Wedding Feast at
Cana, declaration of the Kingdom, the Transfiguration, and
the Last Supper. The Sorrowful Mysteries cover His Passion
and Death. And the Glorious Mysteries cover His Resurrection,
Ascension, Descent of the Holy Spirit, and then 2 you might take
exception to, the Assumption and Queen of Heaven. But other than
those final 2, all Christians would see them as simply the life
of Christ as written in Holy Scripture.

And the first half of the Hail Mary is a direct quote from the Angel Gabriel.

I know form over 10 years of reading in apologetics that my
brother Christians who do not profess Catholicism have great
difficulty with our view of Mary. Those points have been
covered since Luther.

What I might ask you is:
Do you know anything of apparitions of Mary? For example
at Fatima, and the miracle of the sun witnessed by many thousands
and recorded in the newspapers? Or the apparition at Guadalupe
to Juan Diego, whose Tilma still defies scientific understanding?
Or the apparition at Lourdes, where countless miracles are recorded
these 150+ years at that spring? And many more? and the incorruptible
saints? And the documented miracles that attend each and every declaration of sainthood?

I ask my brother in Christ to be unafraid of this devotion
that we Catholics partake in. It detracts not a whit from our
worship of the One Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who redeems
us with unmerited grace.

Son, behold your mother; Mother, behold your son.
At the Cross, Jesus gave all of us
the special help and protection of His mother. Call on her!

Tell me the Rosary isn't about Mary front and center?

OK. The Rosary isn't about Mary. It consists of 20 meditations on events in Jesus' life as recorded in the Gospels. The "Hail Mary" prayer used in the Rosary is a recitation of scripture - the words of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin as recorded in Luke - followed by a request for intercessory prayer. I am not RC but I find the Rosary a powerful tool for contemplating the marvelous plan of salvation provided to us by our Heavenly Father.