"Something's clearly amiss.
But what?"

What is amiss is that Austen Ivereigh's article (for which you provided a link  in your post above)  is  a collection of  excuses on behalf of the incompetent Vatican and Pope Francis. 

Three examples from the article:
1) "Yet overall it is not true to say that the Vatican has not cooperated with the commission. In many ways, given its novelty, the cooperation that the commission has received has been notable." This is  an example of the Vatican and its apologists being deceitful.

2) "However, sources in the Vatican say the request that all correspondence be acknowledged will be fulfilled in the future." In Vatican language, the word "future" means "many years later". Again, the Vatican and its apologists being deceitful.

3)  "A revision of its statutes and a rethinking of the commission’s role is expected at the end of this year." Another example of the Vatican taking months to do something that a secular organization would do in days/weeks.