I have investigated and found some reasonable followers and members of the Catholic Church.
However, when the reasonable perspectives that are actually following Christ’s teachings are outliers few and far between, you do have to take a much closer look. Especially when the Church enables and cultivates Authoritarianism and Fascism.
A crisis that took off circa 325 A.D..
I’m a cradle Catholic. I did all the stuff (Baptism, Fist Communion, Confirmation) as a wee lad. When I was around four years old, the church kicked out my mom and, by extension, my family. I explored other faiths and practices – meditation, yoga, Buddhism, and all the things. I wanted to not convert to a religion or practice that I had not been born to, or wasn’t otherwise ancestrally connected. I explored Protestant fellowships but soon began seeking the “deeper things” back in the lives of saints. This lead to a deep dive into the Early Church Fathers and early church history. Entering the Orthodox Church, I lived in several monasteries and wandered around the US like the guy in Way of a Pilgrim. I was ultimately drawn to Theosis and the Prayer of the Heart, sometimes called the Jesus Prayer. That church became tedious as well. Long story short, decades later, a pandemic, and a few ends of the world here I am. I had stumbled across a podcast called the Pope Francis Generation. I was intrigued. I joined an online community connected to the podcast and gave it a good listen.
I was open and decided to see where it lead.
In relation with that online community, I investigated and found some reasonable followers and members of the Catholic Church. I listened to current events and the Catholic perspectives on those events. I dug into the Western Rite and its various traditions, practices, and dogmas.
There are reasonable perspectives and schools of thought in Catholicism. But for the most part, at least in the US, the Church is promoting Authoritarian forms of government. An ongoing problem and crisis that had its start since at least circa 325 A.D.. If the gates of hell have not prevailed against the Church of Christ, the Catholic Church is not it.
For example, more recently:
Lateran Treaty, treaty (effective June 7, 1929, to June 3, 1985) between Italy and the Vatican. It was signed by Benito Mussolini for the Italian government and by cardinal secretary of state Pietro Gasparri for the papacy and confirmed by the Italian constitution of 1948.
And again:
In July 1933, Hitler and Pope Pius XI signed a concordat, or treaty.
In the months and years after the concordat was signed, the Nazis regularly violated the agreement by shutting down some Catholic organizations, confiscating church property, interfering with Catholic newspapers, and imprisoning or murdering clergy and other Church leaders. But the pope did not openly criticize the Nazis until 1937. By then it was too late. Roman Catholic opposition at this point was limited to isolated individuals who could easily be removed from their positions and lacked the support of their Church. According to Bergen: “The Concordat pulled the rug out from under potential Catholic opposition in Germany. How could parish priests criticize a chancellor who had been recognized by their pope?”
https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/agreement-catholic-church
Christ’s teachings are difficult to align with worldly kingdoms.