Look at science today. There is truth in what you're saying, but a ton of past advancements in science were made by people of faith. The Catholic Church is an institution, it isn't a set of values itself. It can be corrupted and we've seen that be the case, especially during that period and Roman Empire times.

Prayer will fix your problems, but it is a metaphysical idea. It's more comparable to meditation then to writing a letter to Santa. I reccomend meditating on it, or if you're in a big hurry, taking a psychedelic and reflecting on it.