"And for those of us who have studied history, how could we forget the unjust power plays from the Popes of Christmas past? When the majority of Christendom doesn't know their right from their left when it comes to the Bible, should we just leave this one up to the self-appointed experts of Rome to solve this translational and interpretative puzzle?"
Now I also don't believe the pope is self appointed. I believe he was appointed by the bishops who were appointed by the bishops ... who were appointed by Jesus himself. So I think the author is wrong on that part. But on the other hand being legitimately appointed for a task doesn't necessarily make you any good at it, and the author makes a pretty good argument on this point, in my opinion.
I think he may be conflating how the pope is chosen and someone saying they’re an expert on such and such a topic.
Rome has self appointed herself as the only true church, the only church capable of interpreting scripture, and possessing a body of mystical knowledge equivalent to if not superior to scripture. I agree with the self appointed part.