Well, again, everyone has different codes of conduct. The RC hierarchy did what was required of them by church law in their institution about the horrible abuses going on. And it grew into a massive system of accommodation. None of the prelates "needed" to speak up about the abuses, and all but a few ignored them.
Paterno also did just what was "needed" for himself and by law, and for that he has stained his reputation forever. Sure, blame it all on the media, but please don't dare ever give us any platitudes about saintly Joe just needing pass on the info of abuse revolving around his depended-on defensive coordinator. We have hopefully moved nowadays to less savage times where that type of thinking doesn't hold sway anymore, and yes there is a moral obligation to the victims, to the school, and to Paterno himself that he refused to acknowledge when the repeated acts were told to him. You also have no problem with Paterno's adamant blindness to the controversy and his lack of interest, and there is a very fine line between being genuinely "in the dark" and being a willing accessory to the cover-up.
Blaming the media doesn't cut it anymore.