Ritter reflected far different values and sought to lead his church into a new era. When old Glennon Irish acolytes sought to keep Catholic schools segregated, Ritter threatened ex-communication. The rebellion was quashed, but the soft melody of racism played on. The Catholic Church makes no claim for theological diversity. The verities are perpetual and timeless.
Muffled dissent is tolerated.
Strenuous dissent is stoutly discouraged. Pope John Paul II is the personification of continuity. He is a warrior Pope who defeated Communism in his homeland and who fights on for the truth as it is revealed to him. By all inclinations, American Catholics overwhelmingly ignore the Pope on that matter. It is rather akin to how Americans viewed Ronald Reagan on some issues.