Yes, with "unspun" information, we can, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, think for ourselves.  The problem is we don't receive that type information - we get sound bites, parsed comments, edited comments, agenda driven interpretation....remember how the Pope said he was aggravated at some news reports - "“They said: 'The Church opens the door to deaconesses.' Really? I am a bit angry because this is not telling the truth of things.”

How many posters here actually READ Archbishop Sample's pastoral letter before making up their minds on it?  I doubt very many...
http://archdpdx.org/documents/2016/10/PASTORAL%20LETTER%20A%20True%20and%20Living%20Icon%20FINAL-1.pdf

So - how do you think for yourself when you are given "adjusted" information?  Yes - clarification is necessary.