>> I know that in my own non-Catholic experience, pastors and congregations are supposed to work together to keep each other in line on the words of God. But apparently there’s no such check or balance in Rome, far as I can tell.
Actually your understanding of the matter is a bit backward. It is historical fact that the segment of Christianity generally referred to as Protestant has been dividing into countless distinct denominations teaching their own biblical interpretations ever since the Reformation. The Catholic and the Orthodox segments of Christianity on the other hand adhere to the doctrines of the faith based on the scriptural teachings of the holy apostles and ordained fathers of first centuries of the Church. That is why people who equate the current Pope (or anti-Pope) with the Catholic Church itself or with the Catholic Faith, are in error. In other words, the Pope, a sinner like everyone else, must adhere to the doctrines of the faith. And if he does not, he thereby reveals that he is not only a sinner but possibly a heretic.
The Protestants are just honest about it. There are as many divisions in the Roman church as evidenced by the RC posters here. Many post different points of view and insist that represents the doctrine of their church. And like it or not the likes of Nancy Pelosi and homosexual supporting bishops are still in good graces in your church Those would cause (and have caused) splits in Protestant churches