Church: Norway bishop resigned in '09 over abuse

Norway’s Catholic Church revealed Wednesday that a bishop who resigned last year did so after admitting he had molested a child years earlier, when he was a priest.

Georg Mueller stepped down as bishop in Trondheim in June 2009. The church said it had not previously disclosed the reason for his resignation at the request of the victim.

Mueller’s successor, Bishop Bernt Eidsvig, said in a statement Wednesday that the 58-year-old German had been removed from all pastoral duties and undergone therapy after he admitted the abuse. Mueller admitted to only one case — before he became a bishop in 1997 — and no other allegations have come to light, church officials said.

“Mueller has been divested of his authority, and he won’t be allowed to work in a church again,” Eidsvig told Adresseavisen, the Trondheim daily newspaper that broke the story. “He will never again be given a position in the church.”

To read the rest of the article, click here.

Source: Associated Press