The Christian community has undergone a number of divisions over the last two thousand years and nearly all of them had an element of forward thinkers versus traditionalists (I accept that this may not apply to the Great Schism).
I suspect that the issue of Vatican control will not go away - it may be that the traditionalist pope currently in place will be the cause of more overt resistance to Vatican control, not less.
The nuns that Joe talks about sound like the kind of church of which I want to be a part. I am a practising Catholic but sometimes feel that I am hanging on by my fingertips because the authoritarian, heavily hierarchical church and the vast amount of wealth held by the Vatican seem to be a long way from the Jesus of the Gospels.

Forgive me if anyone feels I've gone off thread - just say so and I'll shut up!