Is it just me or does this headline come across as rather arrogant? I consider myself a true Christian and I don't follow the pope.
Nope, not just you. It's typical of the arrogance displayed by some who claim to follow the "one true church." They belittle and demean others in the name of "love" all the while bastardizing the word "love."
Personally, I'm just glad I won't be in their shoes come judgement day. I have enough of my own sin covered in Jesus' blood that I don't need to take on anyone else's.
Its not a question of following the Pope, but following the teachings of the Church where the Pope stands in the shoes of Peter and his disciples who were commanded by Christ to go forth and teach all nations. You are like the “illiterate” student in the class who tells the teacher, I don’t want to be taught, I can read and teach myself. The teachings of Christ were first handed down to illiterates by Peter and his Apostles to believers and un-believables. The Church continues this tradition. So you can follow your own teaching, the teachings of 30,000 other Christian sects (including Joel Osteen or Rev. Wright, Joseph Smith and his band of Mormons: take your pick) or follow the teachings of the Catholic Church.