"The Catholic Church in Norway is in shock after it was revealed that former bishop Muller of Trondheim admitted being guilty of sexual abuse of a minor and said that was why he left his post last year," the Church said on Wednesday.
Georg Muller, 58, who was born near Trier in Germany, stepped down as bishop of Trondheim last year, officially because he was unsuited for the work.
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According to the daily Adresseavisen, which broke the story, the affair goes back more than 20 years to when Muller was a priest in Trondheim.
The victim was a choir boy, who is now aged about 30, 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.
Statute of limitations
The current Bishop of Trondheim and Oslo, Bernt Eidsvig, said he had been given "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.
Confronted with the facts, Mueller, a priest since 1978 and bishop of Tronheim between 1997 and 2009, admitted to having sexually abused a choir boy, but said there were no other victims, the Church said.
"Even if the case can no longer be prosecuted under Norwegian law because of the statute of limitations, the law of the Church remains valid. That is why Mueller today no longer has a position in the Church," Eidsvig said.
Since his departure, Mueller "has been in psychological treatment, or therapy, and has been placed under spiritual guidance", he said.
The Norwegian revelation is only the latest to rock the Catholic Church, after large-scale paedophilia scandals shook the churches of Ireland, Austria, the United States and the pope's native Germany in recent months.
