Y’all are losing sight of the fact that neither the Pope nor the Vatican heirarchy is the Magisterium. I simply don’t believe that this attempt at a radical shift will be accepted by the Body of Christ.
Livius, I think you come closest to the truth...this will SERIOUSLY weaken the heirarchy and the papacy, and strengthen the laity, which is today FAR more knowledgeable about Church teachings than ever before in history. They aren’t dealing with a largely uneducated peasantry anymore.
I guess we are at a Yogi Berra point. It’s hard to make predictions, especially about the future.