Maybe it's time to end trying to dialogue with others through statements, lectures, and such (unless the statement is an authentical agreement reached on doctrinal matters as a prelude to or establishment of full communion).
Who takes the time to read what the Holy Father writes or says? How many people bother to read the papal encyclicals when they come out? (How many bishops and priests don't!) Are encyclicals another band-aid solution by the pope to maintain some sort of authority over the Church, to make up for what is lacking on the part of bishops [and metropolitans]? And when the Holy Father addresses an audience of non-believers or of the lukewarm, does his preaching get through? Or is an alternate form and style called for, something more vigorous, something more apostolic? While there is something to be said for preserving the traditions and customs that have accumulated to the exercise of the papacy for the last two century (it is said that Pius X chose to wear the tiara out of humility, because he did not want to innovate), maybe it is time for the Holy Father to lead the way towards decentralization and a refocus on the pastoral duties of a bishop.
I become more and more convinced that top-down management (if such can be said to exist) will not lead to the placement of holy and orthodox bishops, especially here in the United States. The only remedy we have? Prayer and penance, with the explicit petition that God may raise up holy men to become bishops. We cannot be content bourgeois Catholics and expect things to be ok; what is neeeded is sacrifice (especially of materal goods) in the spirit of charity for the well-being of the Church. Until the diocese (and its parishes) become practicing communities of agape, I think our testimony to the Good News will fail to impress.
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