It's been around a decade since I read "How Far Can You Go", so I forget many of the details, but it is an enjoyable satire in the best sense, i.e. it raises valid criticisms through entertaining exaggerations and unlikely scenarios. I'd encourage people in general, and certainly Catholics, to read it.

There does seem to be some confusion in this thread about how much people accept what the Pope says. For example, when he says that limbo is not doctrinal somehow that pronouncement has no effect, but when he makes other statements, they do. I think it much more likely that people simply accept things that are in accord with their current views, and reject those that aren't - exactly as most people do in most situations.

On the subject of teaching of doctrine: I agree with Joe. Many of the teachers of religion in the past, and probably now, had a rather limited understanding themselves and they simplified this down to give to the kiddies, ending up with lots of adults with an undeveloped understanding. But that's not just in religion, you know. I remember being stunned when a PhD physicist I knew didn't see any relationship between division and subtraction. A nephew of mine started a maths degree in September and didn't see that if he knew how to differenciate f*g he already knew how to differenciate f*g*h without needing additional work. That's what tends to happen when you think in terms of rules, rather than understanding. The best teaching of RE is always about understanding, not about rules.

As to the birth control within marriage: again, I think you would find that most Catholics in Europe and the US form their own views. In other places, such as Africa and South America, there are additional complications such as the role of women in society that muddy the waters even when the couple are not Catholics. That the declarations made by Catholic church are making the situation worse rather than better in those places is one I'd regretfully agree with.