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Well, first, who are they who are confusing you? Certainly, I would agree that it is all very confusing, listening to the multitude of varying opinions regarding the Catholic Church. I would recommend learning about the Church from the Church itself, to test what it says for consistency with Scripture, history and the constant witness of teaching through time since the Apostolic Era. The Church is her own best witness!

Not to beat a dead horse, but I would earnestly recommend reading the Fathers of the Church, churchmen writing between the end of the first century and the eigth Century, in order to see what was taught and believed immediately after the time of the Apostles. Again, if these people got doctrine "wrong," then we're all wasting our time, for Christ then would be demonstrably a liar who could not keep His promise to guide and guard His Church from error in doctrine. Read early Church history, to see how the practices and faith of the age of the Christian martyrs dovetail with present-day Catholic beliefs with regard to the Sacraments, Scripture, what is necessary for salvation, belief in the "communion of saints," and a host of other things.

Read beyond, into the age of the great ecumenical councils, and see how they knew that, guided by the Holy Spirit, the bishops, successors to the Apostles, had the power and authority to "define" points of doctrine which seemed unclear (like the concept of the Trinity, which is hazy, at best, in Scripture, but developed fully at the Council of Nicaea in 325) that, in some cases, even Protestantism believes, though it might not acknowledge the source! Read how they understood their authority also existed in the ability to determine the content of Scripture, and this, in turn was but the final step in authority held by the Church to write (under inspiration, of course!)the New Testament, compile it over time from within a much wider collection of books, and vet that collection down to the 27 NT books we all know today and 46 OT books we Catholics use. Read further, and see how those same bishops understood that they had the authority to condemn the many heresies which, promulgated by men wittingly or unwittingly guided by Satan, threatened to undermine the integrity of the Faith, and understand that much of their council here is responsible even for the elements of the Truth all non-Catholic Christians hold to even today.

Read further, and see how the Church has developed some doctrines over time without injury to the original kernels or premises. She developed them much the same way you and I developed over life. Are we "identical" to oursleves as small children today? No. But the small child of years ago and the adult of today are, nevertheless, one and the same person. Even so with Catholic doctrine. It all comes from the Deposit of Faith, the Scripture and Spirit-led Tradition that comes down to us from the Age of the Apostles.

Read the good and the bad of general Catholic history, and understand that, while our doctrine is pure and inerrant, sometimes our leaders are mighty sinners regardless! While we have many saints who have been leaders of our flock and rank-and-file members, we have had our share of rogues, as well. But, in this, we only fulfill the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares which Christ used to describe His future Church (Matthew 13:24-30), where saints and sinners are together part of "the kingdom of Heaven." You will come to understand that, while our bishops and (especially) our popes may make seemingly grandiose claims about their authority, no one should mitake infallibility in doctrine for impeccability in lifestyle.

All of these things constitute a beginning. They nurture both the head and the heart, but they cannot truly convince anyone unless an open mind is employed, and made available to the grace of God. I invite you to explore all of these things with an open mind, testing everything, like the Bereans in Acts 17, with a view to discerning the Truth.

Only one church can lay claim to both the fullness of the Faith and unbroken continuity throughout the Christian Era. I and the other Catholics on this board will keep you and any others who desire to know the Truth in our prays, that you may be granted the grace of true discernment by God, and employ it to its fullest effect! If you seek it and such grace is given, you will know which Church is, in fact, that which was founded by Christ and comes down to us through the Apostles!