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you seperate catholicism from christianity because it is shaped by man. christianity was created by man. nowhere does jesus propose a new type of religion. in fact most of his messages were (moral) common sense and being taught by many men all over the world.
"For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve..." (Mark 10:45)
jesus did not come for the world to create a religion around him. the term christian was given to his disciples and followers by people who did not believe in him. to my understanding those followers later went through hard persecution in rome finally to become the central religion there. following these teachings the catholic church would be organised. you could say catholicism is the definition of christianity.
also, criticism of catholic traditions is pointless. many people have their own ways of getting closer to God.
you should also remember that the apostles wrote the much of the New Testament after the occurences at a time when Christianity was heavily influenced by regions they were spreading it to. and before then they themselves had division in their own 'church'. christianity has always been shaped by men.
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