My view, as previously stated, is that passing the buck by making this matter all about baby-killing does actually benefit the church in the sense that it distracts attention away from how the church deals with child abuse. If they do nothing/make no public statement, then they appear to be condoning it. If they condemn the abuser, then they are hypocrites for protecting the child abusers in the church. As much as any doctrinal reason, I think this is the practical reason why excommunicating the stepfather didn't happen (leaving aside some mealy-mouthed punts at how rape is bad but not as bad as murder, which have already been made by another Vatican aide, IIRC?)

I'm surprised that the business of the Petrine legacy amongst bishops hasn't come up. It's of utmost importance to the Catholic hierarchy that all their bishops are ordained by the laying-on of hands by someone who had hands laid on him by someone who had hands laid on him, all the way back to St Peter. Apostolic succession is a means by which the Catholic Church claims a spiritual and, arguably, magical authority. Anglicans have obvious episcopal privilege here in that the Anglican church was formed by properly ordained bishops blah blah, so they have apostolic succession (which is quite a big deal for some people), which pleases the Papist wing.

So, bishops *are* administrators, but arguably apostolic succession makes them a sort of guru/magician/Grand Wizard also.