That's the problem. I am catholic, and that is the toughest part to reconcile. The Catholic church hierarchy is very 'top-down' control, much like the military, police, and similar authoritarian organizations. The 'human' tendency is to protect the 'organization' above all, which can lead to blindness and willful ignorance of evil around you in a selfish and foolish attempt to 'protect' the organization, where in reality you actually wind up letting a potential 'cancer' infect the host, which then begins to spread to greater levels.
Thank you for your post and for your honesty.
I have been very critical of the catholic church over this (sex abuse) issue for some time. All I have ever recieved from this site has been extreme abuse for attacking the church.