He inherited at this time only two tools, because of the duplicity and machinations of those within and without the Flock during the prior decades:
1) A tiny little diamond edged chisel about the size of a popsicle stick (his encyclicals and his travels) and
2)a massive sledge hammer (the traditional forms of discipline available in years gone by.)
He knows that if he swings his sledgehammer, he'll make a lot of dust and noise, and please some folks. But a large piece of the sculpture will fall into ruin (open schism,) a piece that the next Pope might have been able to perfect (Novus Ordo Catholics.)
He also knows that his little chisel is incapable of weeding out the big imperfections in this piece of the marble, and that too must be left to the next Pope.
So instead of making any huge improvements in the form and shape of the overall sculpture, he simply, quietly, and without rest works on those areas where he is able without doing worse damage by trying to do more with his tools than is realistically possible.
And future generations will see the love and tenderness that went into his quiet suffering work, and be in complete awe, because in his day, no one individual could see all the little improvements he had made at the time, improvements that future generations will see and grasp and shed tears of joy to comprehend.