BTW, I don't have any problem with this formulation. Being a Roman Catholic doesn't necessitate being an ultra-montanist! :)
If we mean "not above" as meaning he had no special role to play within the College of Aposles, that I cannot accept because Scripture and the Fathers flatly contradict it.
But if "not above" admits that he did have a special role which was not one of monarchism but rather one of service to the universal Church (whoever is greatest among you must be the servant of the rest, as Alamo-Girl cited earlier), that is pure orthodoxy right there.
"If we mean "not above" as meaning he had no special role to play within the College of Aposles, that I cannot accept because Scripture and the Fathers flatly contradict it."
Agreed!