False.
False.
I don’t know where you get your ideas about church history, but they resemble propaganda rather than fact. How Rome fell into various errors is far more complex than your shallow accusations suggest. Right up into the sixth century the church struggled with numerous issues while trying to spread the faith. Rome did not set out to be “a wolf in sheeps clothing”, and the corruption that made that name at all fitting didn’t really set in until the eighth century when the bishops of Rome started to regard themselves as rulers of the church rather than servants and began to insist that all Christians were supposed to obey them.
As for the penance system, that has its own complex origins that had nothing to do with money. It began with the church growing faster than priests could be properly educated: after Confession, priests were supposed to give advice on how to amend one’s life, but poorly educated priests (many could not even read the Gospels!) were woefully inadequate to the task, so wiser heads set down some guidelines for giving such advice in various circumstances. Unfortunately this led to priests relying on these little books of guidance plus drifting towards the simplest responses, so assigning a certain number of “Hail Marys” and/or “Our Fathers” ended up as the common denominator. This led ordinary believers to the impression that saying these prayers was paying for their sins rather than being meant to guide them into a better spiritual life, and as new priests were ordained they had the same understanding, and so it came to dominate the church – despite the fact that various bishops and even cardinals knew better and tried to correct things.
Also false. A minority may hold that belief, but they are definitely a minority. It was popular at the time of the Reformation, but that has to be viewed in light for the fact that since as early as the sixth century people have understood Revelation as being fulfilled in their time and referred to various religious leaders as antichrist – indeed the book of Revelation only made it into the canon because Christians of the second century read it and saw in it the things that were happening around them.
Haven’t actually checked out any Catholic churches thoroughly, have you? Out of scores of visits to both Catholic and ‘non-denominational’ churches, I would have to say that which group does a better job of proclaiming the Gospel is a toss-up.
Odd, since the fact that salvation is through the Blood of Christ is proclaimed as part of every celebration of the Eucharist. Odd also in that the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes clear that salvation rests on the merits of Christ. But they tend to take this verse seriously:
For [God] will render to every man according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life…
Well of course he does – every believer can “make intercession on our behalf to God”, in fact we are admonished to do so! And IIRC John Paul I commented that his prayers are no more potent than those of any devout believer (including non-Catholics who hold to the Creed).