But they are not authorities over your salvation, nor intermediaries in your relationship with God. They are certainly not “middlemen.”
They are teachers, helpers, counselors, and organizers. The Lord called those that attempted to be authoritarians “nicolaitanes.” He said that he hated them.
Which is precisely what the Pope, Bishops, Priests, and Deacons are. You have a completely mistaken notion of what the clergy actually does. One of the titles of the popes is "Servant of the Servants of God".