Michael, there's some merit in the view that Catholic priests should be held to a higher standard than ordinary folk given the nature of their calling. But the thing is, Catholicism is a readily recognisable international organisation, and that makes it an easier target than the hundreds if not thousands of protestant denominations, amongst which tragically similar stories of institutional cover-up occur.
In America, certainly, it appears
there are more Protestants than Catholics, and there's a tendency for the former to do a lot of finger-pointing at Catholic priests (where the thing to blame is the peculiar practice of celibacy) whilst at the same time overlooking their own shortcomings.
Just google "pedophilia in protestant churches" and you'll see a number of reports.
This one, for example. You see the same pattern of organisational leaders trying to cover up and shift blame onto the victim without quite admitting or even, possibly, realising it. They can't quite bring themselves to accept that a prominent member of their denomination is an incorrigible transgressor, and the Christian impulse to forgive gets mixed in, just as it does in Catholicism. Offenders can and do manage to carry on in their ministries for years, continuing to molest children.
In the urge to forgive their sexual offenders and to protect the good standing of their churches, both Catholic and Protestant hierarchies neglect the well-being of victims. The latter may live sad and alienated lives, becoming self-abusers and may attempt or even succeed in committing suicide. It's all tragic, utterly tragic.
If one is a conspiracy nut, one may believe that the Catholic church is inherently evil and that the pope -- any pope -- is the devil incarnate: no need for due process of law, it's already a done deal. All priests may be deemed closet paedophiles, and that's wonderful for those who want to see the end of Christianity, starting with Catholicism. Meanwhile, Protestant churches have been getting a free pass when increasingly, more evidence against some of its prominent members is emerging.
The only solution as I see it is for religious and other organisations is a) to find some way of weeding out pedophiles before they are hired and b) to become less defensive and to attend to accusations openly and without delay, always within the bounds of the law. It's not impossible for someone to be accused and be innocent, after all.