I do not believe that Joe was acting in any way as an apologist for the hideous behaviour of some clergy and religious - of which the Magdalen laundries were a particularly egregious example. I read his posting as a measured response to some previous postings which seemed to suggest that paedophilia was and is a peculiarly Catholic crime, which I do not believe it is. However, it has to be acknowledged that the abuse of their authority vested in them by the church makes their crimes particularly evil.
It is because of this that an increasing number of Catholics are calling for greater transparency and a severe simplification of the hierarchy in the church. It won't go as far as I want it to go, which is to sell the Vatican and all its treasures to various state owned museums (so that the art and treasures are publicly available) and use the money to support the poor and vulnerable. I am not even convinced that the Catholic church needs a pope, but then I'm a rubbish Catholic.