There are plenty of “ordinary Catholics” around the world, most of which are not actually living by their faith. Nancy Pelosi for one. Are these the ones the Pope wants Catholic theologians to humbly listen to before making their pronouncements?
Reminds me of how Bill Hybels started his Willow Creek mega-church by interviewing the non-believers in the area and finding out what their preferences were. That’s right. Go to the pagans first and find out what they want in a church and design your new church around those parameters.
I believe you are confusing Bill Hybels with Rick Warren who started Saddleback Church in Southern California. And your description of what Rick did by going to “interview” people in the area sounds more like gossip than someone who truly read his book “A Purpose-Driven Church”. He didn’t ask their opinion on spiritual or theological matters, he built his “Saddleback Sam” model based on understanding the people in his community. I think it is a wonderfully “novel” idea for churches to build ministries for their communities based on listening to the needs of those being served - kind of like that guy Jesus did.