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I was raised catholic but was not properly catechized.
As a young adult I was confused as I didn't know much about my own religion - or anyone else's for that matter.

I thought before I left the Catholic Church I ought to understand it - in order to know what it was I was leaving.

I never left.

The first thing I did was read Crossing the Treshold of Hope.
This helped me understand that most of what I thought I knew was bunk - that I had alot of reading to do.

My suggestions?
Start working your way through the Catholic Catechism - with a catholic bible by your side.
Read the writings of the Early Church Fathers.
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/

Excellent books to read are those written by...
Scott Hahn, Karl Keating,Stephen K. Ray, Patrick Madrid (all converts)

What you should avoid is considering every statement that comes from Rome as "church teaching"
There is a great difference between an OPINION that a cardinal or the pope gives vs. actual DEFINED Church teaching.
The Church does NOT teach that everything that comes out of the pope's mouth is infallible.
There are special circumstances where infallibility kicks in (ex-cathedra statements, church councils...)
It is these declarations you should consider to properly represent Church teaching.

EWTN has many good resources on their site, as does Karl Keating..
http://www.catholic.com

I can send you more if your interested.

Lastly...you need to find a sound catholic friend or priest who you can rely on for solid information and advise.
There is much dissent out there and alot of misinformation.

There are many people who hate what they THINK the Church is...but may not hate what the Church actually IS.

God Bless!