I think in dealing with Catholic concerns about the direction the Church is going in, we have to remind them that God has a role to play, and it is not only in the hands of human members.
I think the trilemma is an important thing to keep in mind here. Let us demonstrate it by creating two sets of categories.
1) Either God exists or He does not.
2) God either cares about His Church or He does not.
This leaves us with the following:
1) God does not exist (if He does not exist, whether or not He cares about His Creation is irrelevant).
2) God exists and cares about His Church.
3) God exists and does not care about His Church.
Now, with options 1 and 3, the direction the Church is going in doesn't matter. If God doesn't exist, there is no direction for the Church to go in. If God exists, but does not care about what happens to his Church, then it is pretty irrelevant what direction the Church goes in... since He does not care.
However, if God exists and does care about His Church, it stands to reason He will look after it and protect her. That means He won't permit the Church to teach error in matters involving salvation. He will not let the gates of Hell prevail against the Church.
So why all the fear? Unless a Catholic denies God exists or believes God does not care for His Church, he or she should have faith that the Pope isn't going to formally teach error or change Church teachings.
That isn't some sort of "papalotry" claiming the Pope can do no wrong. That's faith in God that He will be keep His promises out of love.
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