Dublin ? Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of an Irish bishop Wednesday for his failure to report child-molesting priests to police — and faced a renewed reminder of the German abuse case most closely linked to his own time in charge of Munich.

Bishop John Magee — who served as secretary to Benedict’s three papal predecessors before returning to Ireland in 1987 — apologized to victims of any pedophile priests who were kept in parish posts during his 23 years overseeing the southwest Irish diocese of Cloyne.

“To those whom I have failed in any way, or through any omission of mine have made suffer, I beg forgiveness and pardon,” the 73-year-old Magee said in his resignation statement. Irish government investigators are continuing to explore Cloyne abuse cover-ups and expect to report findings later this year.