OK, so Kasper is on the list of possible "Popes in the running" (how long is this list, anyway? Seems that all non-AmChurch Cardinals under age 70 are on that list). Yikes! He's a pretty scary guy. Kasper seems to believe that we shouldn't have to live up to the Body of Christ, the Body of Christ should have to live up to us - which equals moral relativism. Cardinal Kasper also is trying to diminish the office of the Pope, I think. I can see why JPII asked Cardinal Ratzinger to stay on despite Cardinal Ratzinger's age and health. Thank God for Cardinal Ratzinger!
For over two generations our faith formation has been shaped by a media culture that has portrayed our Church as a dinosaur that is either an impediment to social progress or simply irrelevant. We are blinded by ignorance. Where there is no vision, the people perish. The truth is that our Church's traditions and teachings have not been tried and found wanting; they have been found demanding and are no longer tried.
I can understand the pressure that the priests and Cardinals are under. I think that some, or even most of them are afraid if they really teach what the Church teaches, most of us will leave... but, it seems to me that most of us have left already.