When there is 35+ years of bad or no teaching it’s hard for me to blame the laity. One of the things that makes it so hard for a good bishop to try to reclaim such areas is the lack of Church teaching that went on for GENERATIONS.
I blame the Vatican for letting areas like this twist for 30 years. When such free reign of bad bishops is allowed in areas with a much less dense historic Catholic population, the effect is even more grim. After a couple of decades of such sheparding the folks don’t really even know they are Catholic much less what the Church teaches.
That’s not to say we shouldn’t pray for our bishops and priests.
Freegards
That's a perfectly normal reaction and representative of our poor understanding of the Vatican's responsibility. The following article provides a better perspective.
Why Doesn't the Pope Do Something about "Bad" Bishops?
That said, however, this bishop might just as well erect a
sign. He has done nothing to reclaim the Catholics that have left the fold.