I answered #1. Of course it "matters." But it's a big jump from it matters for the Church, to personal guilt for not knowing what the men in Rome are supposed to be telling us.
Why does everyone here seem to think that Jesus Christ would be so unjust as to require us to do the work of the appointed leaders instead of the leaders themselves doing the work, telling the truth, leading authentically?
We won't be examined at the end of our lives as to whether we took over leadership of the Church just because men in Rome failed at their jobs.