Q. 1. Why does the Catholic Church have kneelers?

A. 1. "A kneeler is a cushion (also called a tuffet or hassock) or a piece of furniture used for resting in a kneeling position."

"In many churches, pews are equipped with kneelers in front of the seating bench so members of the congregation can kneel on them instead of the floor. In a few other situations, such as confessionals and areas in front of an altar, kneelers for kneeling during prayer or sacraments may also be used. Traditionally, altar rails often have built-in knee cushions to facilitate reception of Holy Communion while kneeling."

"A kneeler is also a part of the prie-dieu prayer desk."

[Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneeler]

The French words prie-dieu mean pray (to) God

To pray on one's knees is a form of humility. No one stands before an Almighty King. In some cultures, the servants dare not look into the eyes of their king. They kneel before him and look at the floor unless told to do otherwise.

The modern kneelers are padded because the elders and the disabled cannot kneel on are wood kneelers or on the floor for any length of time. He who has a padded kneeler spends more time in prayer versus the person who's concentration is on the pain in their knees because of the wooded kneelers.