The Vatican on Wednesday confirmed that a bishop had resigned in Norway last year after child sexual abuse allegations were made against him. As the Vatican is working to contain the impact of the sex abuse scandal engulfing the Catholic Church, its press spokesman Father Federico Lombardi confirmed that Bishop Georg Mueller had resigned from his position as bishop of Oslo and the central city of Trondheim in May 2009 after an investigation.

Mueller had admitted to sexual abuse involving an underage altar boy several years ago, the English-language daily, The Norway Post, said on Wednesday.

The Vatican confirmed an earlier statement by Bishop Markus Bernt Eidsvig, who replaced Mueller in Trondheim.

Eidsvig said in a statement on Wednesday that the 58-year-old German had been removed from all pastoral duties and undergone therapy after he admitted the abuse.

"The matter concerns a case of sexual abuse of a minor at the beginning of the 1990s, which came to the knowledge of the ecclesiastical authorities in January 2009," Lombardi said in a statement.

Mueller admitted to only one case and no other allegations had come to light, Eidsvig said.

"The question was rapidly confronted and examined through the apostolic nunciature in Stockholm, by order of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith," Lombardi said.

"In May 2009, the bishop presented his resignation, which was immediately accepted by the Holy Father, and he left the diocese in June. He underwent a period of therapy and no longer carries out pastoral work."

The news broke after the victim, who is now in his thirties, told his story to a Catholic priest after having kept it a secret for around 20 years.

Mueller, originally from Trevi in Germany, was a priest in Trondheim at the time of the abuse.

According to the local Trondheim newspaper Adresseavisen, the man received a year's salary, around NOK 500,000 ( 84,000 dollars) in compensation.

Eidsvig told the Trondheim paper that the victim did not want publicity while expressing the church's "shame" over the incident.

"From the point of view of civil law, the case is subject to the statue of limitations. The victim, now an adult, has thus far always asked to remain anonymous".

Earlier this week, Eidsvig said that the Church was aware of four other cases of sexual misconduct in Norway.

AKI