I'm a Protestant who was raised on heavy doses of "This is why we are not Catholic" with the serious understanding that they may be so far off that they aren't Christian & we're not sure if they will get to heaven. The issues Paul raised initially are a good part of the reasons I was given.

I've modified my thinking a lot over the years & hope to offer some thoughts that might help.

The 'decalogue' is found in Exodus 20 & Deuteronomy 5. I believe the currently official Catholic Translation is The New American Bible. I think all the translation stuff in this thread is fairly irrelevant to the intial question, so I won't address it. I read the 1st & 2nd commandment separation and the 9th & 10th combination the same way you do. Having grown up on 'Luther's Small Catechism', I was surprised when I read the actual texts. Luther apparently still accepted this particular reading even as he opposed many other practices of the the church of his day. Other more radical protestants renumbered them more accurately & in some cases destroyed a lot of religious art. I have a hard time with the seeming veneration of representations & relics, but from the remove of 400-500 years, the wholesale destruction seems extreme & unnecessary.

Several people have posted the official line on why what Catholics do does not break the commandments. I've read a lot of church history & some very entertaining & even inspirational longer versions of some Saints lives. My feeling is that the distinctions being made are doctrinal developments to jusify a popular religious practices that grew up over time (although some were quite early). I'm not sure most Catholics now or in the past really made such intelluctual distinctions.

My grandmother was Catholic & when she talked about the saints in prayer it sure sounded to me like she thought the help was coming directly from the saints. When I hear what the current Pope has to say about Mary it sounds to me like he's worshiping more than venerating. When I hear about getting a saint's medal blessed, I cringe. I don't, however, think any of them are condemned for doing these things.

Personally, one of my favorite religious bookstores is a Catholic one. There is so much there from Catholic writers for 2000 years that is so very spiritually edifying. At the same time I cringe when I see all books about Mary. In both the books I like & the ones I don't I find an expectation of the immanance & experiential aspects of God in daily life that my protestant background paid lip service to but did not seem to have in any practical way. Being protestant & an intelluctual type, I just don't really 'get' "bowing down in front of various statues / alters, kissing the feet of a statue on Good Friday etc." so I'd never do them. I do think the experience of 2000 years shows it does work for many.

If you were raised Catholic, didn't catch the distiction of the to/through or venerating/worshiping, and are bothered by these usages in your own life; then maybe you should avoid the practices & if you feel strongly enough head for a protestant church. Isn't it great that we have so many alternatives?