It's dysfunctional now, but it served it's purpose for centuries in a society that was hierarchical and divided on lines of class and birth.  Pio No No wasn't all that wrong to see democracy as a major threat to a hierarchical world view.  Unfortunately it doesn't seem the RCC hierarchy is willing to adopt a more democratic humanistic world view.  To me it seems that Pope Francis is running head on into the intellectual problem of  calling for outreach to the margins while sitting on the throne of the last monarchical hierarchical culture whose theology underscores the divine right of a class of men to oversee the souls of the 99.9% of adherents who are by definition, on the margins.  It's hard to appear credible with that kind intellectual dissonance.