This thread is on moral teaching from the Church. There is an authority structure for which that teaching is to be delivered in times of need. It is not each bishop for themselves to take unto themselves the mantle of pontiff. But such is the Twenty-first Century, as it has been in the past. The difference is today, Kazakhstan can preach to America. For reasons. And Americans have thousands of bishops they can pick to follow over their own, and the pope.
In the USA, the few hundred bishops have often been divided, with close votes or 60/40 votes on policy questions. This is not a group where individuals are fearful about disagreeing publicly with leaders, or with the majority. They do it often.
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