Not With a Bang, But a Whimper?

"... most people liked the new Mass. There were a few strong rejections, but the expected explosion never materialized. Sociologist Father Andrew Greeley said that within two years around 73 percent of American Catholics said they liked the changes in the liturgy, which was astonishing."

They liked it but not enough to attend? There was no explosion, but rather a slow leak?

I do like this, though: the opposite of Catholic is not Protestant; the opposite of Catholic is sectarian.

But not this: those who want a purer, smaller church that seeks to withdraw from the world are the non-Catholics because the Catholic tradition has always been a big one, because there ARE hardly any such people. (And I think it is sectarian to misrepresent the views of the more orthodox that way.)

No one WANTS a smaller Church. But Jesus didn't say, good riddance, don't let the door hit ya.... but neither did He say, no, no, wait a minute, come back, never mind, it's okay, you can believe whatcha want
He did not "want" it, but He accepted that, tragic though it was, His would be a "smaller, purer" band of disciples.