I want ACTUAL historical evidence . .
Oh my goodness, where to start? In considering the victims of Papal Rome's excesses, one cannot ignore the numerous wars fought by civil armies against the Popes' enemies over the centuries at the instigation of Papal pressure and demands. I suppose we could start with the wars against those so-called heretics which began as early as the 4th century...those who rejected the councils and arrogant pronouncements from the Roman Emperor in support of the Nicean and subsequent council formulas and creeds on the Godhead/trinity. Of course no-one but God knows the precise numbers of individuals killed because they denied the trinity, but 3 entire nations were consequentially destroyed, among other reasons, because they were deemed heretic Arians. The Goths, the Heruli, and the Vandals. The Goths and the Vandals in particular were large powerful groups, and because they were Arian, and refused to accept Papal authority, they needed to be removed before any bishop of Rome could exercise the civil and religious power promised by Justinian 1. Numbers killed would be anyone's guess, but shall we settle on 1 million as a very conservative guestimate?
The numbers of Waldenses killed can also never be accurately stated, but when one considers the time period over which the Popes continued their aggressive persecutions and attempts to wipe them out, 1000 years of individuals, families, and villages being completely decimated, and any survivors murdered, any attempt to arrive at a number would be an insult to those who perished.
So just on the subject of wars fought in order to better improve and consolidate papal authority, I would begin with the "conversion" of Clovis to Catholicism and the wars he fought on behalf of the popes...I could list the constant war against the Celtic church which continued into the 8th century at least...the wars in Britain that continued throughout the ensuing centuries until modern times (IRA ring any bells)… the wars through the centuries wwaged on behalf of the so-called "holy Roman Empire" by Charlamagne, Louix 14th, the attempts to unify Europe on behalf of the Jesuits, the first and second world wars...the Vietnam War...the wars against the Hussites...the Albigenses...Huguenots...the 30 years war..."St Bartholomew Day" massacre (which resulted in all the Vatican celebrating and the Pope having a medal struck in honour of the day) … how many millions in all of the above? I haven't mentioned the crusades waged against Moslems and Jews to enthrone the pope upon power in Jerusalem, nor any of the inquisitions as in Spain, India, south America...You claim that not many died at the hand of the inquisitors. Really? What right did the Catholic church have to hold any inquisition to begin with? What right does the Catholic church have, apart from its own assumed authority, to torture people to enforce a confession or a change of faith? How is such actions even remotely related to the gospel?
Now of course you will mention Protestant wars against Catholicism. Go ahead. I am not justifying murder on one side in order to condemn another.
All who murder are guilty. I would protest and deny however that any Protestant participation in
war was anything other than self defense. And the very few instances of persecution against Catholics by Protestants (your own numbers even if accurate) pales in comparison to the millions, yes I said millions, that have suffered and died at the hands of power hungry despots claiming the throne of Peter.
You STILL can’t account for the first FIVE ENTURIES of Christianity and this mythical faithful “remnant” of yours.
Did you know BoL that out of the three hundred eighteen bishops who signed the decrees of the great Council of Nicaea in 325 - the first general church council - only seven were from the Latin West? Where did the others come from? They weren't Roman Catholic; their churches hadn't been begun by Roman missionaries; they had no idea of submission to the Roman bishops; many of their churches in their native lands were initialised by missionaries from Antioch, Edessa, or Asia minor. Those churches quickly grew to number 100s of 1000s, then ,millions...in territories
never visited by missionaries from Rome until Jesuits went to these places and found an extinct Christianity from centuries previous.
But you asked where was the church in the first 500 years that wasn't attached to Rome...how about the church at Milan and Turin...whose bishop refused to recognise papal authority and held out against Rome for several hundred years?
What of the church in Ethiopia begun by the emissary baptised by Philip? What of the church in India begun by Thomas? Do you really believe, seriously, that Rome had anything whatsoever to do with the establishment of any of the above churches?