Since most other cultures in the world figured out the whole don't murder and rape thing, I wouldn't say the Catholic church is the common denominator.

I... Wouldn't quite jump to that.

The opposite, I have read the Bible and it clearly supports slavery, stoning homosexuals and insolent children and many other things that are the opposite of a good civilization

That's a common mistake: read the bible. First you need to be catholic, only then you can read the bible without do the same mistake that our protestant brothers do.

I do recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Church-Built-Western-Civiliz...

One of the biggest event that shaped the modern civilization was the age of enlightenment, the ideas of the Enlightenment undermined the authority of the monarchy and the Church. [0]

New Ideas such as Democracy, which is a corner stone of modern Western Civilisation, where opposed and denounced by the Catholic Church.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment

I have a book recommendation as well: https://www.amazon.com/puta-Babilonia-Whore-Babylon-Spanish/...