I would not say that the Church has been thriving in the last 30 years or so.  None of the CARA survey results paint a picture of a thriving Church.  
The supposed "strong growth" in numbers among women's traditional religious orders is a matter of disagreement.  CARA statistics seem to show that retention rates are not so wonderful.  
I can also understand why some women who are traditional Catholics would want to be nuns and why women who are not quite as traditional would not.  The not-so-traditional women probably see the world in a more positive light and believe that they have more choices.  
Allowing women priests would not mean that all women had to become priests, for heaven's sake.  And, just maybe, priests might stop wearing the clerical collar .....