It seems to me that the Pope is doing what Paul did when he "made ineffective" (katargēin) elements from Torah.  Sometimes the term is wrongly translated as "abolish," but that hardly fits any Pauline context. Rather, with Torah remaining normative, he (and his disciples) make exceptions where an element of the law (circumcision, kosher, festivals) is rendered moot because of the over-riding task of announcing the good news.