"The Catholics look to the pope who can either look to early church precedent or the words of the pope."
Just a personal opinion, X, but I'd say the present Pope is good one for all of us to listen to.
The present one yes but that is the problem with absolute authority.
I think Benedict is excellent.
It is well known that a lot of those in the church were looking forward to a much more liberal pope. And I think it's clear the trend in the last hundred years has been toward liberalizing Catholic doctrine.
That's why there shouldn't be one person authorized to make absolute doctrine changes on a whim.