Marital affairs and clerics.

It is very common among the shia community that when marital discords occur then people rush to the maulanas, shaikhs etc. Wives' who are suffering maltreatment from their husbands often complain that the maulanas are not helping them in getting freed from their husbands and are acting haughty. Sometimes this may result in embarrassing situations, as seen in the video above where angry women beat up the clerics in Lucknow. So the question is, do the maulanas even have the authority to issue divorce, khul'a etc and do people need to even go to them and beg them (or bribe them) to get the job done or can they just do it themselves? What do ahadith say?
 
Man la yahdhuruhul faqih

وروى ربعي بن عبدالله،. والفضيل بن يسار عن أبي عبدالله عليه السلام (في قوله عزوجل: (ومن قدر عليه رزقه فلينفق مما آتاه الله) قال: إن أنفق عليها ما يقيم ظهرها مع كسوة وإلا فرق بينهما


And narrated by Rab'i b. Abdullah, and al Fudhail b. Yassar from Abi Abdullah(as) (in regards to Allah(swt)'s saying): (and he whose provision is measured, let him spend of that which Allah hath given him.) (Imam(as)) said: If he spends on her what's sufficient to keep her back straight and cover herself otherwise separate both of them.