Understanding the bible doesn't help.
How can a person make a statement about Catholicism, knowing very little about what Catholicism actually teaches? All you are doing is stating a cliche. I could just as easily say the same about Protestantism has little to do with the bible, when it leaves the Catholic faith...
The fact is that the Bible is not self-interpretated. It takes men to interpret what the author intended. You have your opinions and are welcome to have them. But it is unlikely that Protestantism is the "true" understanding of the bible, since the term itself stems from schism, condemned by the OT and NT alike.
Regards