We appear to be bearing the responsibility (4)
I believe the answer is:
onus
'the responsibility' is the definition.
(onus is a duty or responsibility)
'we appear to be bearing' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'we' could be 'us' and 'us' is found within the answer.
'bearing' could be 'n' (north is a compass bearing) and 'n' is present in the answer.
A single letter 'o' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for onus that I've seen before include "Duty or responsibility" , "albatross?" , "Responsibilty" , "'Burden, load (4)'" , "Obligation - charge" .)