I think that would be true of most Protestant "councils" as well. I think most Proddie's conventions would be made up of ministers and probably some lay representatives of the church, hardly every Tom, Dick and layman.
That's probably true. I know there are congregational types who go whole hog on democracy, but let's ignore that. I think the point to the original post was that Catholics do not pick their leaders or pastors. We don't vote to see who is going to be Bishop for this "term." We don't get together and decide who we are going to hire as pastor. And like judges aren't elected to "insulate" them from political pressure, so it is in the Catholic Church. You get the pastor the Bishop decides to give you. You get the Bishop the Pope decides to give you.
Electing the Pope is the obvious counterexample, but that election really in no way is effected by the average layman.
SD