The Pope is expected to lead the Church, not make vague statements or entertain heresies. When JP II died and there was conjecture about who would be the succeed him, one pundits said he wouldn’t take the name John Paul III; when asked why, he asked, “Could the Church survive 25 more years like this?”
I was hoping for Pius XIII, but Benedict XVI was fine.
With recording devices everywhere, anytime the man opens his mouth, somebody is going to record it. They will then use it for their own ends. Take the whole “who am I to judge” tempest in a teapot. People are hearing what the want to hear, and essentially proof-texting the Pope.
Even the great Ronaldus Magnus was quoted as saying “We will begin bombing in 5 minutes.”