In Matt. 10:1,40 - Jesus declares to His apostles, "he who receives you, receives Me, and he who rejects you, rejects Me and the One who sent Me." Jesus freely gives His authority to the apostles in order for them to effectively convert the world.
The key is it was given to the apostles ,but they were never told they had the ability or authority to give it to others
In Matt. 16:19; 18:18 - the apostles are given Christ's authority to make visible decisions on earth that will be ratified in heaven. God raises up humanity in Christ by exalting his chosen leaders and endowing them with the authority and grace they need to bring about the conversion of all. Without a central authority in the Church, there would be chaos (as there is in Protestantism).
Nowhere does Christ tell them they have the ability or authority to pass on the gifts given to them for the purpose of the birth of the new church.
Protestants believe Christ to be the central authority and the Bible the handbook / blueprint He left behind.
Actually there is no more "confusion" in Protestantism than in Catholicism IMHO
The first thing Peter does after Jesus ascends into heaven is implement apostolic succession. Matthias is ordained with full apostolic authority. (Acts 1:15-26)
The only problem with using this as your model is that we have no scriptural evidence to support this act.Peter was known to be rash and run ahead of himself.
He did this without having any authority given to him to pick a replacement.
We never hear of Matthias again in scripture.Whereas Gods selected replacement wrote most of the NT and was the churches chief catechist.
That is the difference between the plan of men and the plan of God
The laying on of hands was a Jewish custom for the passing on of authority
In the NT church it was seen as the passing on of spiritual gifts through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit ( stirring up the gifts that are in thee)
God gave the early church many gifts and responsibilities but no where does Christ say those gifts were theirs to pass on where they willed
By giving Peter the keys of authority (Matt. 16:19), Jesus appointed Peter as the chief steward over His earthly kingdom (cf. Isaiah. 22:19-22). Jesus also charged Peter to be the source of strength for the rest of the apostles (Luke 22:32) and the earthly shepherd of Jesus' flock (John 21:15-17). Jesus further gave Peter, and the apostles and elders in union with him, the power to bind and loose in heaven what they bound and loosed on earth. (Matt. 16:19; 18:18). This teaching authority did not die with Peter and the apostles, but was transferred to future bishops through the laying on of hands (e.g., Acts 1:20; 6:6; 13:3; 8:18; 9:17; 1 Tim. 4:14; 5:22; 2 Tim. 1:6).
This gift of the Holy Spirit, through the laying on of hands in ordination, was something Paul instructed Timothy to pass on in the future. Part of his duty as a bishop-evangelist was to ordain elders in different congregations. He tells Timothy he must exercise this ministry carefully, lest he ordain a priest unworthy of the office. In 1 Timothy 5:19-22 he tells the young evangelist:
"Never admit any charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. . . . Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor participate in another man's sins; keep yourself pure."
Paul tells Timothy not to lay hands on an elder too quickly; don't ordain him until he has been tested and shown to be of excellent character. Otherwise Timothy will share in his sins.
Timothy, as well as Titus and other early evangelist-bishops, carried out this ministry of ordaining priests, and the result is what we have today in the Catholic Church: a sacramental priesthood with a chain of ordinations running straight back to the first century, whose links can be clearly documented from Church history.