A German-born former Catholic bishop in Norway, Georg Mueller, has admitted sexually abusing a minor 20 years ago, the Norwegian Catholic Church said today.
A German-born former Catholic bishop in Norway, Georg Mueller, has admitted sexually abusing a minor 20 years ago, the Norwegian Catholic Church said today.
"The Catholic Church in Norway is in shock after it was revealed that former bishop Mueller of Trondheim, on Norway's western coast, admitted being guilty of sexual abuse of a minor and said that was why he left his post last year," the Church said in a statement.
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Georg Mueller, 58, who was born near Trier in Germany, stepped down as bishop of Trondheim last year, officially because he was unsuited for the work.
According to the local daily Adresseavisen, which broke the story, the affair goes back more than 20 years to when Mueller was a priest in Trondheim. The victim was a choir boy, who is now around 30 years old, and has been paid damages by the Church.
The Vatican has been aware of the facts since January 2009 but the details have not been released "at the request of the victim," the Church said.
The current Bishop of Trondheim and Oslo, Bernt Eidsvig, said that it was Cardinal William Levada, in the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith who gave him "the heavy task" of announcing that the Holy See had been informed of the accusations against bishop Mueller at the end of January last year.
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