Does the church require unquestioning obedience?

[Tantum_ergo]

This might be helpful, from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Note particularly the last sentences in the quote and the context from the beginning of the quote, please.

2035 The supreme degree of participation in the authority of Christ is ensured by the charism of infallibility. This infallibility extends as far as does the deposit of divine Revelation; it also extends to all those elements of doctrine, including morals, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved, explained, or observed.[77]

2036 The authority of the Magisterium extends also to the specific precepts of the natural law, because their observance, demanded by the Creator, is necessary for salvation. In recalling the prescriptions of the natural law, the Magisterium of the Church exercises an essential part of its prophetic office of proclaiming to men what they truly are and reminding them of what they should be before God.[78]

2037 The law of God entrusted to the Church is taught to the faithful as the way of life and truth. The faithful therefore have the right to be instructed in the divine saving precepts that purify judgment and, with grace, heal wounded human reason.[79] They have the duty of observing the constitutions and decrees conveyed by the legitimate authority of the Church. Even if they concern disciplinary matters, these determinations call for docility in charity.

As you see, even in disciplinary matters, docility is called for.
The OP has been advised that his original “trio” of so-called Church abuses were not abuses.

Indulgences were never sold by “the Church” but by disobedient members.
Galileo’s trial was not a matter of “discipline”. You might find this interesting:
*

The finding against Galileo was hardly infallible. The condemnation had little to do with defining doctrine. It was the finding of one canonical office, not a determination by the Church, that set out a clear doctrinal interpretation.

*While Galileo would continue to conduct important scientific studies – and publish books on those studies – the fact remains that his condemnation was unjust. The theologians who interrogated him acted outside their competence and confused the literary nature of Scripture with its theological intent.

*Galileo died in 1642. In the 19th century, “scientism” became its own religion. In an era where intellectuals viewed science and scientific method as the only means to attain truth, Galileo was resurrected and canonized a martyr.

*The trial of Galileo is most often portrayed in terms that it clearly was not: Galileo the scientist arguing the supremacy of reason and science over faith; the tribunal judges demanding that reason abjure to faith. The trial was neither. Galileo and the tribunal judges shared the view that science and the Bible could not stand in contradiction.

*The mistakes that were made in the trial came from Galileo’s own personality and acerbic style, the personal umbrage of Pope Urban VIII who believed Galileo had duped him, jealous competitive scientists, and tribunal judges who erroneously believed that the universe revolved around a motionless earth and that the Bible confirmed such a belief.

*Galileo had not succeeded in proving the double motion of the Earth. More than 150 years still had to pass before such proofs were scientifically established.

*“Theologians…failed to grasp the profound, non-literal meaning of the Scriptures when they describe the physical structure of the created universe. This led them unduly to transpose a question of factual observation into the realm of faith.” (Cardinal Paul Poupard in his presentation to Pope John Paul II on the results of the papal-requested Pontifical Academy study of the Galileo trial.)

*If there is a war between science and religion, it is not a battle based on any denial from the Church of the need for scientific progress. Rather, it is from certain segments of the scientific community that have adopted a religion of science that scornfully disregards religious faith. It is far more common today for certain scientists to declare war on faith, than faith to object to science and its search for truth.

And for crying out loud, just what does Adolf Hitler have to do with any discipline of the Catholic Church? The man was condemned, as was the Nazi Party, by the Pope, BEFORE WW2 even started.

 

[Ani_Ibi]

gelsbern:

Are you that the church was correct in staying neutral in regards to the holocaust?

The Church was not neutral in regards to the holocaust. The Church spoke out against the atrocities years and years before anyone else even bothered to open one eye. Moreover, She put Herself at considerable risk to forge papers for Jews in the Vatican, harbour 4000 Jews in Vatican houses, and hide hundreds of thousands of Jews across Europe. The Chief Rabbi of Rome, seeing what as going on, converted to Catholicism.

Nice try at a cheap shot. But we caught it.

 

[Ignatius]

gelsbern:

The church history is filled with teachings of discipline that have been in error. The selling of indulgences, Galileo and Adolph Hitler to just name a few.

Adolph Hitler? Anyone joining the Nazi party was automatically excommunicated. The Pope hid thousands of Jewish refugees in his personal residence. You are very misinformed my friend. Do a little homeword, read what Albert Einstein, Golda Meyir and other Jewish people who lived through that period said.

 

[Ignatius]

Island Oak:

This seems well-reasoned and explained. Where in scripture are we instructed that Jesus, in establishing the Church with Peter as its head intended him to be considered infallible by believers?

Whatsoever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, whatsoever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.