This is why this won't go away.
Imagine the outcry, the legitimate outcry, if it turned out these... persons were living on public assistance or had disappeared completely. The public perception would certainly be that the Church was saying "hey, he's your problem now".
This is like saying to the judge after you kill your mother don't give me the death penalty I'm an orphan.
If your church treated these scum in the manner they deserve and showed a little more empathy for the victims you wouldn't get beat over the head with this issue.
I want to make sure I understand exactly what the issue is here. There are priests who committed horrific sins, there are bishops who covered up the crimes and the cover ups of the crimes. On that I think we agree. The accused should be tried and, if found guilty, punished by the civil authorities. They should not return to active ministry in any capacity after whatever sentences are carried out. Are we still in agreement?
Then what... in Catholic language they should be reduced from the clerical state... all of them without regard to the particulars of their crimes? Do we go through the motions for the 80 year old who's bedridden in a nursing home when his crimes finally caught up with him after 50 years? I don't know, maybe.
Do we look at these messes on a case by case basis or just have a blanket policy? Do we draw the line based on what exactly? A conviction? Imprisonment? What if there's not enough evidence to convict in a secular court but an ecclesiastical court can?
Is it possible to make a case that certain individuals could or should be better monitored by keeping them "in the ranks" so to speak? NOT functioning as priests of course.