St. Peter, the first pope of the Church did worse: he recommended that Jesus abandon His purpose of the Cross. The Church is run by humans. Humans err. The Church doesn't err is teaching of faith and morals coming from the Church as a single voice. Approving of torture is not a teaching of faith and morals, it is a historically practiced form of judicial inquiry.
If Protestant communities of faith think that they are inerrant Catholic Church, they should pose the same question to themselves. They approved of torture, of slavery, of Nazi militarism, and of homosexual "marriage" and abortion. Not all of them, but some. Go fugure.
And if they don't think that they are inerrant, they should re-read the description of the Church as by divine will without blemish in the Scripture, Ephesians 5:27.
Is it not the teaching of the Catholic church that Protestants are heretics? Saying, “We’re no worse than the heretics” is choosing the wrong measuring rod, isn’t it?
“Approving of torture is not a teaching of faith and morals, it is a historically practiced form of judicial inquiry.”
Then the Pope led the church into error by giving his approval? Into a practice that violates the greatest principles Christ set forth?
But since it wasn’t a teaching of faith and morals...well, that’s different. At least it wasn’t as bad as those Protestant heretics.