Self-examination is indeed valuable, but it doesn't take Christianity to achieve it. Better without, I'd say, as Christianity has a habit of setting the criteria for you according to its own tenets. Whilst I agree that critical thinking should be encouraged (in which I would always include asking for evidence for things you're told), I don't think that it's exactly the Catholic Church's strong point. The apparent limited loosening of doctrine is hardly a shaft of theological enlightenment, more a grudging response to the information and social media age and the freer and more open atmosphere of criticism. You can put lipstick on a brontosaurus but it's still a brontosaurus.