I had reason to follow the case of Marcial Maciel. Blame for the inaction against this horror of a priest lies squarely with Ratzinger. In 1998, lawyers representing Maciel's victims approached Ratzinger at the CDF. Ratzinger sent them away empty handed claiming that there was a statute of limitations in this case and that he was powerless to do anything.

Cleverly, the lawyers returned in 2002, this time citing Maciel's corruption of the Sacrament of Confession (he had used the seal of confession in order to silence his victims.) There was no statute of limitations for this sin/crime and the punishment for it was and still is, immediate excommunication. The lawyers thought that at last the victims were going to get some sort of justice.

They were wrong. Ratzinger himself imposed a statute of limitation on that particular crime. The victims again received no justice. What little justice they did get was after Ratzinger became Pope and sent Maciel off to a nunnery.