Norway bishop left in ’09 over abuse

OSLO – A Catholic bishop in Norway who resigned last year did so after admitting he had molested a child about 20 years earlier, when he was a priest, church officials said Wednesday.

The announcement came after a Norwegian newspaper pressed for an explanation for why Georg Mueller, a 58-year-old German, had stepped down unexpectedly as bishop in the western city of Trondheim in June 2009. At the time, Vatican and Norwegian church officials gave only vague reasons for Mueller’s departure.

It was the first case in the current wave of sexual abuse allegations – and accusations of cover-ups – against Catholic clergy in which a bishop stepped down after admitting to having molested minors.

Mueller’s successor, Bishop Bernt Eidsvig, said in a statement that the details surrounding the case had been kept quiet at the request of the victim.