Dear Engaged Bystander: Here is the background on the case… The Munich Archdiocese of the Catholic Church recently acknowledged mishandling of a sexual abuse case while the pope served as the archbishop there.  In this case “H” was convicted of sexually abusing minors, given a suspended sentence and ordered to undergo therapy. Shortly thereafter, he was allowed to resume pastoral duties, perpetrating further abuse, before being arrested again.  See the NY Times article about this case.  
 
The German archdiocese is taking full responsibility for allowing the priest to later resume pastoral work and encouraging others to come forward. The German church has vowed to investigate all allegation of abuse, even if the abuse happened decades ago.   That is essential first step in turning this around. 
 
Unfortunately, the Vatican had no comment beyond this statement which the Vatican spokesperson said “showed the ‘nonresponsibilty’ of the pope in this matter”. 
 
"Nonresponsibilty" should NOT be a term we can use when we talk about our children and teens. 
 
While I do understand that the pope may not be held accountable (e.g., prosecuted) for this decision by a subordinate, I strongly believe that the leader of any institution should be held fully responsible for the actions that are done under his (or her) leadership. 
 
This seems so basic to me. If my kids or friends of my kids do something wrong in my home, if they are underage and drinking, I am responsible for that incident. If one of my staff does something wrong in my organization, I am again responsible for that action. If the president of the United States makes a decision or someone in his cabinet makes a decision, he is responsible as the leader of our country. 
 
The Vatican says that Pope Benedict XVI was not involved in permitting the priest’s return to a parish. To me, that is not the measure of whether he was responsible. To me, if a decision was made under his leadership, he does have some responsibility. And even more so, now that he is pope. 
 
I would want the Vatican’s statement to say that the pope does take responsibility for this case. The full measure of that responsibility is to fully confront the sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and to learn about what should be done differently going forward. 
 
To me, that would be showing true responsibility and international leadership.