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Norway's Catholic Church Reveals Bishop Resigned in Child Abuse Scandal


Norway's Catholic Church has revealed that a bishop who resigned last year had admitted to allegations of child molestation committed about 20 years ago.

German-born Georg Mueller stepped down as bishop in the western city of Trondheim in June 2009. Church officials gave vague reasons for his resignation at the time.

His successor, Bishop Bernt Eidsvig, told reporters Mueller confessed to abusing a choir boy as soon as he was confronted with the accusation. Eidsvig said details of the abuse had not been released earlier at the request of the victim.

He said the church did not report the case to police because it was too old to be prosecuted in Norway due to a statute of limitations.

The news of the abuse by Mueller is the latest in a string of pedophilia scandals in the Catholic Church worldwide, including in Pope Benedict's native Germany.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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