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While I am a strong supporter of the Pope, I think that any time something like this happens and is covered up, it is not "overstated."

Part of the problem here is a misunderstanding of exactly how much power the pope actually has in this case. The pope is really just one of the bishops. They all have the same powers. In the past, some popes have abused the office as far as papal bulls of excommunication are concerned, but JPII really hasn't. I agree that the rebuke and calling on the carpet should have been public, but that's not the way the church works. The truth is, the bishops submit resignations and the pope accepts them. It should be a matter of conscience. They just don't pull bishops out of office. We've had a continual problem of the bishops ignoring Rome on a variety of things, and the way this was handled was one of them. If a cover-up can be prosecuted, then it should be done, but I'm not sure that any bishops have been charged with it.

As far as excommunication goes, they've done it to themselves and they will have to answer to God and His Son in the end. In the secular world that seems to be small comfort, but truthfully, that is one of the basic tenets of the faith.