Clearly the RCC and EOC believe that a special power was given to Peter and then the rest of the disciples. I think a much more straightforward interpretation is consistent with Jesus' earthly ministry. The keys of heaven are FAITH in JESUS, without this you will not be saved. The binding and loosening is the preaching of the gospel. The listeners that hear and believe are bound by the Holy Spirit. The listeners who hear but don't believe are free of the Holy Spirit, loosed.
clearly protestants believe that not only did Christ waste his time telling several apostles this but that it only REALLY applied to law school drop outs 1450 years latter.
And that is particularly true regarding the opening of the Gospel to the Gentiles by Peter at the house of Cornelius. The Gospel that they preached opened the door to the kingdom of heaven to the Gentiles and it remains open to this day.
And there is no evidence that those keys ever left the apostle's hands and were passed on to anyone else, except for the Gospel and their writings.
Pastors in churches all had the Scriptures in their hands which they used to open the door to the kingdom of heaven to all who wanted to enter. Those were the keys and they still are.
To those who claim to some other exclusive set of keys, I ask: Show us. Prove it. Otherwise:
Whoso boasts himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain [Proverbs 17:20].