You speak of a limited understanding of a dogma and doctrine and I would not argue with that.
When St Thomas wrote of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist he was not reversing that doctrine, he was explaining it more fully. The Sequence, Lauda Sion, composed by him in the 13th century cannot be surpassed today as a doctrinal statement set in verse.
The development of doctrine most certainly does not result in that doctrine being turned upon its head, rather it adds further proof to the authenticity of that doctrine and refutes the arguments of those would reject that doctrine.
When you speak of the Church admitting it's limitations of the past what would you say to its limitations in the present unless you believe that the current era is the golden age of Catholic learning?