VATICAN CITY, May 8 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Bishop Walter Mixa of Augsburg, Germany, the Vatican announced Saturday.
The brief statement gave no reason for the pope's action, the BBC reported. Mixa submitted a letter of resignation last month, apologizing for any harm he has caused and saying Augsburg needs a "new start."
The German news agency Deutsche Welle reported Friday that prosecutors in Augsburg have opened an investigation into allegations Mixa sexually abused a boy.
Mixa has publicly said he may have hit children at an orphanage in the 1970s and 1980s and apologized for his actions.
The church is also investigating allegations that money at a children's home under Mixa's supervision may have been spent on luxuries like wine and fine art, the BBC said.
In his letter, Mixa sought forgiveness from "all those to whom I may have been unfair and to those who I may have caused heartache."
