I know that back in October, the Bishops in the United States were ready to make a statement, to "pull off the bandaid" as you deftly worded it. Someone stopped them, and I am not 100% certain as to why.

I know that seminarians and priests are required to report anything. I know that my home diocese (which is mapped based on geography of county and state lines) has rules in place for reporting both to the law enforcement and to the diocesan officials (in that order) to make certain that no further damage is done. Even if it turns out to be a false alarm, a miscommunication, or catching part of a conversation - if it is suspect, it is reported. More and more there are priests and seminarians who are opening their mouths when there is the slightest hint of danger to a child or to someone else. We are not hearing about it as much - either because the media ignores it, or because (and I pray to God this is the case) there are far, far less current instances that need reporting.

Granted, that does not address the meat of your question and the events and abuses that have previously transpired. The fact is that I, as a person, a Catholic, would like to see a definitive statement as well. There is a "sort of" admission that there is a problem, but there has been no concrete and definitive "YES THIS IS A PROBLEM AND HERE IS WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO (1) PREVENT IT GOING FORWARD AND (2) HELP THE VICTIMS AND (3) DEAL WITH THE WOLVES." There have been more definitive statements at the diocesan levels (think states in the nation) than from the Vatican itself, as far as I know. We are waiting to see what comes of the meeting that just took place in February (2019).