Catholicism is a cradle to grave faith. Jesus is the centre of the faith, just like in any other church. The (belief is that the) Pope is the elected descendant of Peter, whom Jesus gave authority to. Do we worship the Pope? Most definitely not. Do we listen to him, of course. But like any word given in a non Catholic church, it has to be tested scripturally and in the spirit.
I think of Catholic Vs Protestantism like milks; The Protestant version of Christianity is Jesus light - you focus on your personal relationship with Jesus and the trinity and wait for the rapture, his return and judgement day and the rapture. And their is absolutely nothing wrong with this - you'll get to heaven just fine.
Catholicism on the other hand is the full cream Jesus. He's the reason for our season too, we also eagerly await for his return. But we believe in obedience to the body of Christ (the church and it's teachings) We also believe in heavenly helpers in the form of Angels, Saints and Jesus' own mother, Mary. We believe that just like here on earth, these helpers in heaven can hear our prayers and pray for us / perform works. Just like in the old testament such as when God sent the 2 angels into Sodom and Gomorrah to assess the situation .
It's all this extra stuff that confuses non Catholics, but rest assured - no Jesus, no salvation. Know Jesus, know salvation is very much a catchphrase in our church too.