On Papal Authority: Did Pope Paul VI Renouncing the Tiara have more than a Symbolic Meaning?

The last papal tiara, renounced by Pope Paul VI at the conclusion of Vatican II

Fr. Tom Collins and I have been having an interesting exchange about the crisis in the Church. He recently sent me the comment below about papal authority and the "tiara." I found it thought-provoking. Many seem to think that Pope Paul VI shunning the papal tiara was a good idea. Who needs all that pomp and circumstance anyway? When the pope placed it on the altar he called it the, “renunciation of human glory and power” and “the new spirit of the Church purified.” 

Really? 

Is that what we've seen since then: a "new spirit" that has given us a "Church purified?"

Please, no laughing! It's too tragic!

Let's stop and think for a minute. The Apostle of Common Sense, G.K. Chesterton, has this to say about fences which applies here to the papal tiara:

There exists...let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: “If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.”

So what exactly did the papal tiara represent? And who was cheering on as it was reduced to a museum piece? What was the use of it? 

Fr. Tom offers this explanation:

Note that some also wonder whether the act of Paul VI in giving up the papal tiara, which indicates the pope’s authority to teach, sanctify and rule, had more than a symbolic significance. An act of hubris can be misconstrued as an act of humility. And renunciation of the exercise of authentic authority is welcomed by those who are seeking ways to become “liberated” from accountability to the truth. Also, such renunciation of authority also allows for pastoral negligence, as the “supremacy of conscience” is used as an excuse both to acquiesce to the legitimacy of sin-seared consciences and to absolve pastors from having to exercise their awkward responsibility to admonish sinners. And with Catholics left free to presume that all of us will eventually go to heaven, pastors can be relegated to being merely sacramentally-enhanced social workers and/or spiritual activities directors on the good ship, Salvation.

Paul VI’s act of renunciation could also have been an indication of a major shift away from the traditional Petrine ministry into a new paradigm incrementally yet increasingly confined within the parameters imposed by secular premises, perspectives and priorities. The crowd appeal of relevance could thus be allowed to eclipse appreciation of the sacred and sanctifying disciplines of Divine Revelation proclaimed by the Church.

In all of this, we need to reverently and contritely consign ourselves to God’s mercy, whiletaking decisive steps of prayer and fasting to cooperate more fully with that mercy and to deepen our hunger and thirst for that righteousness found only by abiding more deeply in
the mystery of Christ crucified. 

You can read about Pope Paul's action here. You can see that particular tiara at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. 

We live in a world that has destroyed monarchy. England's monarchy is nothing but a symbol and a tourist attraction. Was the move to eliminate Christian monarchies and raise secularist governments also an act of raising secularism above religion? In the U.S. we now have a demented man with the power of a kingly tyrant. Did the abdication of the "kingly" power of the pope, in the image of the Christ the King help achieve the rise of secular tyrants with the hubris that they are almighty rulers?

Furthermore, did Pope Paul VI's action contribute to the chaotic crisis in the Church today by renouncing the tiara and the authority it represents? We call Jesus Christ "the King." Did the pope, Christ's vicar on earth, help to bring Christ down from His throne by shunning His crown? And who now has usurped that throne? What do you think, readers?