Bishop who resigned cleared of sexual abuse

A German bishop who recently resigned after admitting he beat children at a Catholic orphanage has been cleared of sexual abuse allegations, investigators said yesterday.

Prosecutors had opened a preliminary investigation into sexual abuse allegations against Fr Walter Mixa, whose resignation was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI last Saturday.

But prosecutors in Ingolstadt in the country's south announced yesterday they had halted the investigation against the 69-year-old just one week after confirming it had begun. Local daily Augsburger Allgemeine reported a week ago that the investigation involved the alleged abuse of a boy while Fr Mixa was bishop of Eichstaett between 1996 and 2005.

Fr Mixa at first rebuffed allegations that he beat children at the Schrobenhausen orphanage between 1975 and 1996 in the face of several sworn statements from his accusers. But he tendered his resignation to Pope Benedict after admitting giving youngsters in his care "a slap in the face or two", which he said was "completely normal back then".