Pope of Disunity

So the SSPX are likely to be in soon.
Already the Ordinariate is beginning to thrive in the States, and once they are given a church or two here that might happen in England and Wales - though they are doing pretty well using Spanish Place as their "Cathedral".
Those with a Catholic "sense" are given courage to live out their faith.
The liberation Summorum Pontificum gave the Traditional usage is slowly making an in road into the Church and parish life.
Seminaries are gradually becoming more Catholic, even if they are not, they are turning out young priests who want authentic Catholicism.
and yet,
Those American nuns who have "moved beyond Jesus" are likely to be out, at least as an organisation but there very presence shows how deep the rot goes.
Dissident Irish priests have been silenced but in Ireland dissidence seems to be the new orthodoxy.
In Austria there  is open disobedience and rather dubious decisions made by some of the hierarchy.
In the US the Bishops are fighting off the government and perhaps wondering whether they have much backing from the ordinary Catholic in the pew.

The US is interesting the Bishops are battling against the Liberal establishment and actually raising the old dusty banner, so carefully put away by their predecessors, of Catholic teaching on reproduction and sexuality. In Europe "gay marriage" is increasingly becoming an issue and the "equality" thing in general  seems likely to drive the Church out of the establishment niche that it has enjoyed for the last forty years. We are being forced to talk about sex and marriage for example by secular society, when we had perhaps forgotten how radical our own message is. Secular society does seem to understand.

Seven years ago many were expecting a "rottweiler" Pope, who would clear up doctrinal error, boot out heretical bishops, cleanse the Curia, clamp-down on liturgical abuses and theological errors and those peddling them. Instead we have had a Pope who teaches. His teaching however is constantly radical, a continual call out of the confused disunity of darkness into the light of Christ. Yet he is criticised for not using his authority to clean up the Church. How often does one hear amongst Roman dicastery officials the criticism, "he reigns but does not rule"?

What we have in the Church is increased division, and it is the Pope himself who is the source of division. There is an increased seperation between those who gather with Peter and those who don't. In many ways little by little there seems to be "sifting" of the Church, we boast over a billion members but most are almost pagan, on the edge of the Church.

Cardinal Koch recently said:

"A widespread criticism holds that the pope is not concerned" about the church as a whole but is focused on a small portion of his flock and "is content with that."
"The only thing that is true in this criticism is that, in reality, the pope is convinced that the true renewal of the church cannot begin with the masses, but only with small movements" inspired by the Holy Spirit and acting as leaven for the rest of the church, the cardinal said.

The idea of a smaller leaner Church is not exactly at the heart of Benedict XVI's writing but the idea of a small seed, a group that is leavening the lump, a candle flame that illuminates the darkness is, so too the Saint who has a profound effect an society around him is. More importantly is the triumph of Truth over error, of God over the un-Godly; rather than mass excommunications Benedict is more optimistic, he expects conversions because through the Resurrection God has triumphed!

Pope Benedict seems content to leave much up to Divine Providence because an over meddling Pope is likely to do more damage to the Church than one who directs attention again and again to Jesus Christ.
It is like the orientation of liturgy, it is about directing attention, not to "the poor servant of God labouring in the vineyard" but to God himself.