They take vows to obey the bishop and the pope.  The church should seriously consider the ramifications of these vows, assuming the leadership actually believes in anything.  A vow to a man that leads to acts of evil is a violation of a person's obligation to God.  Those who elevate their human vow over their obligation to God will have to answer for that if there is a judgment, as will those who accepted those vows.  If the Cardinal or Pope wants to ride the the hot rails to hell for aiding and abetting the rape of children, do you really want to ride along?