You partially answered the question about the pedophile Priests which is Ok.Didn't say much about the Inquisition, the power grabs by the Popes of the 11 Century etc. The Catholic Church is a Bureaucracy and the first rule of a bureaucrat is CYA, hence many of the problems I perceive with the Catholic Church. There is also a problem with the office of Bishop. In historical Christianity the office of Bishop was Husband of one wife etc per 1st Timothy 3:1-7. The office has Changed in the Catholic Church since then. So this is not the same Church Christ founded. If you are happy fine but the rest of Christianity doesn't need to take a back seat to Rome! That being said I know many devote Christian Catholics through the years. Still haven't told me where Isaiah Chapter 43 fits in to your end time time line.
All of this being said, I am glad my soul and my ultimate fate in eternity is in the hands of a loving God and not a bureaucratic institution with all the CYA etc that goes along with it. You can put your faith in the Catholic Church if you want that is up to you, I will put my faith in Christ! How could the institution responsible for our eternity and God's “representative on earth” be so barbaric and power hungry that it lost the total vision of the Gospel? Again, just historical fact. I also went to a Catholic grammar (I do mean grammar to if you have ever taken English from a nun) school..LOL
You know, when it took months for a letter to get from Spain back to Rome, I don't think I'm all that well qualified to say what I'd have done to people who I sent multiple letters only to find out six or seven attempts down the road that they were ignoring me. Particularly when whatever I wanted to do depended on multiple little tin gods that agreed with the violators.
The History channel had a good thing about the Inquisition, it's about 94% bunk and that's from a guy who started out to show the horrors of it. I realize Hunt and a other like to claim more people were slain than were actually residing in Spain and Italy combined at the time, so think what you like.
Power grabbing Bishops and such, well, I leave that to you and who ever else thinks that there those wealthy speakers and authors alive today spreading the Rapture stuff and beating the Catholic Church are pure as wind driven snow. I hope they all are. The fact is, the vast majority of those called "greedy and power grabbing" only look that way when compared what the Church expected of them and look pretty modest compared to a good number of popular speakers, pastors, and authors, who are drumming their wares these days and selling the sizzle of the Rapture. Even if that were not true, please provide a list of the perfect people in the Bible other than Christ himself. It doesn't work that way, you know it, said as much yourself earlier, and yet point to what is common to all mankind as if it's unique to the Church. Interesting.
No, I'm tired of the Rapture stuff but I can assure you, you can easily find a better interpretation of Isaiah 43 than the one held by the Rapture folks. Easily. If you want to, you will, see how that works? You know very clearly what I think related to that matter and that's enough said by me.
Regards