Let us concede that the paper trail stops one or two levels shy of Ratzinger in many of these cases, though not of Rev. Kiesle. What is required is for the Church to release all documents. And even if Benedict has grown, letters like the one shielding Kiesle can only be expiated by Benedict leaving the hierarchy now.
It is grotesque for perpetrators to put themselves on the same moral plane as victims of any sort, let alone victims of one of the greatest wrongs ever committed.
If those who teach us about God are to dispel our reasonably doubts, they must be visibly and consistently honest and reliable. Someone who has participated in a coverup of criminal activity simply cannot command our trust that way.