What's with this trend with american Catholics?

To start this off honestly I'm not religious at all. To expand the little on the question I'm not just talking about politicians that say they're Catholic when they're obviously not, I personally know a few Catholics that have said things along the lines of "fuck the pope" or "it's my personal relationship with Christ that matters". When I question the ones that said fucl the Pope about what they said they say something along the lines of "I don't have to agree with him" which like yeah sure but saying fuck the pope it's a completely different thing than not agreeing with him, isn't that almost the same thing as saying fuck Jesus?. And isn't saying that it's your personal relationship with Christ that matters a Protestant belief? Why is this a thing among American Catholics? because I don't really see Catholics of other places say or act like that

I'm not saying it's all American Catholics, just saying I've seen enough people like that to notice a pattern.