I am a Protestant who loves many aspects of the Catholic Church. However, I must be frank ... to many outsiders, it appears, more than ever, to be the haven of timid, retiring intellectuals and perverts. If you are concerned about the image, this needs to be addressed pronto. (of course, image isn’t everything.)
Why would any Catholic give a fig what a Protestant thinks of our Church? Let them go to their meeting halls and follow the Men who founded their sects (Luther, Calvin, et. al.)
Discipline has been inexcusably lax - particularly at the diocesan level.
In reality, nowhere close to true. We have our fair share of tepid sorts and those who abuse position. That's just reality. Our leadership is in the midst of transition by attrition (unfortunately). The not so hot bishops are slowly being replaced with orthodox ones (who aren't liked by the "intellectuals") as they retire. There's a number of other things going on.
One thing that I came across somewhere along the line is that after a council - any council and there have been 22 - for about 50 years, chaos happens. We're in the last 10 years of the chaotic cycle. Things are tightening again, although not at the same rate everywhere. One direct result of this tightening will be the evolution of more stereotypes. Oh, well.