When your ideology runs into rough waters, you essentially have two choices: you can draw lines in the sand, expel all but your most committed and intellectually sound members, and hope for some future deux ex machina; or you can open up, redouble your efforts, and make strategic compromises with the world. Benedict is a good example of the first option, and Francis, the second.
Benedict always reminded me of Dostoyevsky’s Grand Inquisitor. Sure, he mouthed the party line about God’s love and all that, but his heart wasn’t really in it; he was far more interested in maintaining discipline and running liberals out of the Catholic Church. It isn’t difficult to imagine him in a different age burning heretics with crocodile tears in his eyes. He’s probably disappointed he didn’t get the chance.
Francis, on the other hand, thinks the Christian message is far greater than a handful of doctrines revolving around sex. He will push the limits of his authority as far as he can in order to make the message more appealing to the world as it currently exists. Will he succeed, or will the dead hand of history ultimately prevail? My bet would be on the latter, but at least he’s trying.