RnR ,  I once had a small book edited by Romano Guardini .  It contained various essays  on religious topics from a Catholic church point of view  .  
Written in Nazi Germany on " airmail paper " these were slipped into regular mail and discretely passed around .  Dogma was one essay in this book  .
Likened to the Sun, Dogma was seen as shedding light on all things  .   It was pointed out how counter productive Dogma becomes if we stare right into it as into the sun because  we are blinded !
It is so easy to add phylacteries to a prayer shawl !  Same for dogma  .  We are human  .
Like God's Chosen People , the Israelites  we want to get it right but find ourselves and our best efforts failing  .  Ask Paul of Tarsus !!!
So , yes , teachings can and do fall short of the mark  .  Why ?  It continues to please the Lord to work within our humanness  and not override it  .  The Spirit promised by Jesus teaches us all we need in each present moment  . Life is growth  .