With more than a billion followers, the Catholic church is the largest global organization the world has ever seen.  To carry out its work all over the world, it depends on workers who get salaries that are almost stipends AND it depends upon volunteers.  If the ordinary worshippers stop believing in what they are doing, the whole think collapses.  Francis knows this.  If he cannot reconcile theory AND practice, the church could be emptied out everywhere.  People read, they communicate on social media, they have experiences themselves, within their families and know of others' experiences.  The past official teachings were not to be questioned.  But they couldn't be obeyed either.