...If the Catholic Church had taken swift action to rid itself of these bad apples...
The Catholic Church consists of real people, most of them sinners like you and me, and some of them (a fraction) big sinners, equivalent to your buddy Clinton. Swift actions are a domain of the law enforcement organs and this is what is now happening. It didn't happen before, because the shameful cases were resolved quietly out of court and your massmedia stayed silent for decades for some reason. It's another issue if grabbing a boy's buttock in a public swimming pool justifies a 10-year jail term. But grasp this, all alleged and real cases from 40 years, 30 years, 25 years, and 10 years ago are all of a sudden taken with equal ferociousness and trumpeted by your media. There is no fairness there, which is what makes it the officially Open Season on the Catholic Church, another one in the history of Christianity.
At the same time, we have our general public totally morally screwed-up. Just watch any of the talk shows and see what is happening. When you feel your "holy rage" against evil clergymen, turn on a TV show and see what's going on in the nation. And don't be surprised; if the best of the best (the Catholic priests) could have had some bad apples among them, then the general public won't be any better.
The gates of hell will not prevail.