text: What you apparently "know" is history viewed through the lens of imperial Rome, for which the Church represents the last vestiges of its wealth, power and control....which is not the same as actual, recorded history. Read up on the Constantinian church and how the political and cultural influences came to bear. Any rational person can see how the early RCC was a product of these influences, which bear little resemblance to the simple and humble beginnings of the early Christian church. 
  
  For example, were you aware that some of the early "popes" (a Roman invention of the 5th century) had little to no theological training but rather were chosen for their political and militarian might?  Probably not, because it doesn't fit the narrative of your Christ-sanctioned, imperial-styled, infallible "Holy Roman" Church. (That's a free one, you can do the rest of the research yourself.)