I suspect many religions "rigidly" adhere to past practices, and they receive less public comment than the RC church.

A good question may be "why is there more concern expressed for internal RC matters, than with other religions"? (Take Islam, for example, where many adhere "rigidly" to past practices).

My personal answer is because the RC church is often "in your face", and in the news,still influencing many aspects of in western society.
Because of this,attention is drawn to what many see as conflicts between the RC church leadership with current society and with their interpretation of many of Christs messages - (IMO, those who are not RCs and non-believers in religion also see many Christian messages as important to a just and caring society).

At the basis may be the potential impacts fall closer to home in the western world than with other religions. Other factors may relate to the historic evolution of Christianity and related disputes, power struggles, questionable non-religious activities in the past (some that would seem counter to the Christian message), and different interpretations of "the Christian path" by various Christian churches. Since the RC church has a founding position in Christianity, this likely puts it more closely "under the microscope". Having a central, and often very visible leader compounds this focus and public interest beyond "the faithful of the RC". (For example, many people have an interest in the Dalai Lama because of his status as a celebrity, rather than his religions message).

In more recent times, a broader tolerance and understanding of gender and sexuality issues has emerged in western countries. While these issues have stimulated internal strife and discussion inside many Christian churches, most have kept the discussion internal and generally operate "in sync' with changes in their local society/government. While many of "the RC faithful" are generally in sync with these society changes, the top level of the RC church has not always (if ever) been in this position.

On a final note, IMO, the dismal way the center of the RC church dealt with the sex abuse scandal, did more harm to the RC church than all the controversial actions and issues related to it's leadership throughout all of it's history.

With any failure comes an opportunity for "meaningful" change. Whether the opportunity is grasped by the RC church, is in the hands of those who likely are less connected to the outside than its followers (or even anyone on Mudcat). What prognosis does that give for significant and "meaningful" change, regardless of who is selected by the would be "pope-folks" under the veil of the white smoke?