Quite right, but try as they might, individual popes can only do so much in their lifetimes. Had John XXIII been succeeded by somebody other than Paul VI, for example, Vatican II might be no more than a forgotten footnote today.

The key to sustainable change in the Church is to end the unjust stranglehold the industrialized West (especially Europe and North America) has on the College of Cardinals. It can't be overstated just how significant it is that Francis is trying to correct that imbalance by appointing more electors from the global south and the developing world.