“Since there is precious little in the NT that even begins to resemble what the Catholic church is today and has been for most of history, that claim is empty.”
The same could be said of the Greek Orthodox Church. What resemblance to the simple and understandable message of the Gospels can be found there?
For starters, the Real Presence....Oh, wait, the simple and understandable message of the Gospels most American Protestants read leads to a "theology" which teaches that the Real Presence must be a filthy papist trick because, well, God couldn't be in two places at once! Sorry, the profundity of that soteriology is so far beyond the ability of this simple grandson of simple Greek peasants.