Of course; I know you well enough to say that you are not anti-Catholic. I simply meant that the predisposition to sovereign individual judgement trumping authority, especially church authority, and certainly anything early-medieval and undemocratic is a uniquely modern idea. That -- I don't blame you for it -- is your lens.
I can accept that as fair and reasonable. That lens is really rooted in "freedom" generally, and American freedom specifically. I do freely admit that lens when I first started reading the Bible. It is amusing that we find ourselves in these positions vis-a-vis the "free will" debate. :)