just a comment on one matter:

"....when the Pope speaks in very limited instances, as the spiritual descendant of the rock upon which The Church was built, he speaks with the protection of infallibility.."

well, one of the few things I have read extensively about is this. I did a LONG paper on it in college..(got an A)..

If I were Catholic, I would find it hard to take seriously a doctrine that was essentially force-fed to the Vatican Council by Pius IX in July, 1870...Papal Infallibility was a political move, and has been an awkward, seldom used doctrine ever since. I suppose one has to 'officially' support it if one is a practicing Catholic...but.....

A search on Pius IX, or "Vatican Council 1870" will yield some fascinating reading....

(I STILL admire the Pope for his determination under stress, while decrying his conservative policies...he reminds me of R. Reagan...doing harmful things to the policies, while Teflon coated when he is critiqued because he is such a nice fellow.