Guilt is a very effective way of keeping corrupt status quos going. Even if you change your ways, there is still dirt on you. The only way to break the cycle is if someone from the outside exposes the filth, or someone guilty on the inside decides to pick up his cross and accept the consequences of admission and exposure. On top of that, there are many who won't even entertain the possibility that the accused could be guilty even with evidence, because they have an emotional interest in preserving a false image of decency. Or they're terrified of the consequences of reporting the problem.
This is what happens with sex abuse. When there's enough guilt to go around in the right places, the guilty form a kind of hellish camaraderie, a Mexican standoff of pointing fingers. Once such people assume positions of power, they also have a tendency to concentrate corruption in the institution by favoring the corrupt. Doing so entrenches the standoff and eliminates those who would oppose or expose them. The so-called "lavender mafia" is a well-known example, because the media hate nothing more than the RCC, but this occurs everywhere and at greater rates.
What's important is what we distinguish between institutions and the people that temporarily occupy them. Good institutions should generally be preserved. It's the corruption that should be dealt with. Of course, that's not always an option. Sometimes, corruption destroys the institution, or perhaps the institution is beyond repair. But generally, there is a presumption in favor of cleaning house rather than abolition.
This is what happens with sex abuse. When there's enough guilt to go around in the right places, the guilty form a kind of hellish camaraderie, a Mexican standoff of pointing fingers. Once such people assume positions of power, they also have a tendency to concentrate corruption in the institution by favoring the corrupt. Doing so entrenches the standoff and eliminates those who would oppose or expose them. The so-called "lavender mafia" is a well-known example, because the media hate nothing more than the RCC, but this occurs everywhere and at greater rates.
What's important is what we distinguish between institutions and the people that temporarily occupy them. Good institutions should generally be preserved. It's the corruption that should be dealt with. Of course, that's not always an option. Sometimes, corruption destroys the institution, or perhaps the institution is beyond repair. But generally, there is a presumption in favor of cleaning house rather than abolition.