You're right, you're not a Catholic. The Pope does not "need" to do anything. Catholics are Catholics because they obey, not only in conduct, but in meaning. If they have thoughts of their own, they can have those thoughts as long as they are approved by the church. That's Catholicism in a nutshell - total obedience in mind, body and heart.
And to see what that's like in the real world, discuss a spiritual issue with a Catholic that you have worked out for yourself, and feel right about with God, that differs from Catholic teaching. Or - study history, especially Catholic history, and come to a determination that differs from Catholic teaching. A Catholic will not disagree with your conclusion and belief. They will disagree with you arrogating the power of personal thought to yourself, without approval of the Church.
And if you point all this out to a Catholic, they will deny the totalitarian control, even though you might cite their own Catechism to them to support it. Do you know why they deny it? Because they are told by the Church that their mind control is freedom. And so to them, denying the existence of something they are simultaneously obeying in thought, word and deed is not only not hypocrisy - it is literally, for them, truth itself, because it is authorized by the Church.
People talk about "Catholic" this, and "Catholic" that, and I laugh. They have NO idea what they are talking about.
Is Tao Te Ching Christian?