You seem to forget that Christ Himself didn’t find the position “redundant.” You protestants DO believe in popes. as long as it is you who is the pope! God is not the author of confusion, so obviously the same message isn’t getting to everyone.
Well I’m no pope. (Though I am one of a nation of priests.)
I certainly don’t claim to be the “Cardinal Archbishop of Rome” nor “superior to all other bishops” (as 2ndDivisionVet put it above).
But I can read the Bible as well as you, he, and Pope Francis can. And 2ndDivisionVet can read, understand, and quote Proverbs 13:24 as well as anybody. And he doesn’t claim to be a pope either.