Do they not carry with them Anathemas to all who reject such declarations? There is no Catholic Anathema to those who reject the plain language of scripture. The anathemas only attach to rejection of the traditional teachings of the Church and the ex-cathedra proclamations of the Popes and the declarations of the Councils such as Trent.
So you can argue till you are blue in the face that the ex-cathedra Papal teachings are not considered superior to scripture. Objectively they are.
I wasn't aware that your understanding of Scripture was identical to Scripture itself. Do you seriously think that Trent believed the Reformers agreed with Scripture and condemned them for it, or do you permit yourself to consider that perhaps Trent thought the Reformers guilty of twisting and misinterpreting Scripture?
The Reformers were a threat to the political power of the Church and the Bishops. The Catholic Church had long been guilty of twisting the scripture to give more power to the Priesthood and less power to the laity. When the scriptures were translated for the laity, the cat was out of the bag. The Reformers were guilty of untwisting the scripture from the knots that the power hungry catholic priesthood had twisted them into.
"Rejecting the plain language of scripture" is not a doctrinal position. Specify the doctrinal position you're talking about.
When Arius "rejected the plain language of scripture" and held that Jesus was a creature, he was anathematized. When the Pelagians "rejected the plain language of scripture" and held that one could be saved by his own good works and that the crucifixion was merely to set a good example, not a propitiatory sacrifice, they too were anathematized. And so on.
So you can argue till you are blue in the face that the ex-cathedra Papal teachings are not considered superior to scripture. Objectively they are.
No, objectively, the explicit teaching of the church (cf Dei Verbum, Vatican II; repeated in the catechism) is that they are not equal or superior to scripture.
Subjectively, you think our actions belie that. I think you're wrong.
The Reformers were a threat to the political power of the Church and the Bishops. The Catholic Church had long been guilty of twisting the scripture to give more power to the Priesthood and less power to the laity. When the scriptures were translated for the laity, the cat was out of the bag. The Reformers were guilty of untwisting the scripture from the knots that the power hungry catholic priesthood had twisted them into.
Protestant mythology ... it just never dies.
Read Eamon Duffy's The Stripping of the Altars and Hillaire Belloc's Characters of the Reformation and get back to me.