 So at the end of the day, for many people, Catholic, Protestant, or non-believer, the Pope, most commonly deferred to, is myself. Well, St. John Henry Newman, another convert from Protestantism, by the way, pointed out, there is something essential about the living authority of the Church. As a convert, I can attest to the wonderful gift that the Magisterium actually is. There are such things as dogmas and doctrines that were given in the deposit of faith or developed stemming directly from that deposit.