Sure, Christ is the head. That's the whole point of the Pope.
The Pope was given the keys (Isaiah 22:22) and is His Vicar. If you ignore the King's Vicar, you ignore the King. Sorry, but that's how monarchy works, and Christians are monarchical, not democratic. You approach the King in part through His ministers, for the reasons stated in the essay - to add to the glory of God.
The office of apostle did not lapse in Scripture. Instead, the office of apostle went through four generations:
- (1) Christ, the apostle sent from the Father with all authority on heaven and on earth
- (2)The Apostles He appointed and gave all authority on heaven and on earth (John 20:21),
- (3) The men they chose as their successors (Acts 1:26, 13:1-3, 14:23), who had all authority on heaven and on earth, the power to write Scripture itself (Acts 15),
- The men the successors chose to succeed them (1 Tim 4:14, 2 Tim 1:5, Tit 2:15)
Four generations of the office of apostle, and Scripture ends, but at no point does Scripture indicate the office and authority of the office ends. God established a heirarchy in His kingdom. That's how monarchies work.
Isaiah 22
15. This is what the Lord, the LORD Almighty, says: "Go, say to this steward, to Shebna, who is in charge of the palace:
16. What are you doing here and who gave you permission to cut out a grave for yourself here, hewing your grave on the height and chiseling your resting place in the rock?
17. "Beware, the LORD is about to take firm hold of you and hurl you away, O you mighty man.
18. He will roll you up tightly like a ball and throw you into a large country. There you will die and there your splendid chariots will remain-- you disgrace to your master's house!
19. I will depose you from your office, and you will be ousted from your position.
20. "In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah.
21. I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
22. I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
23. I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will be a seat of honor for the house of his father.
24. All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots--all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.
25. "In that day," declares the LORD Almighty, "the peg driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down." The LORD has spoken.
Sure don't sound like your Pope to me!