German prosecutors say investigators have found no proof that would justify holding the country's top Roman Catholic cleric responsible for hiring a priest known to have sexually abused minors.

Prosecutor Christoph Hettenbach says in a statement released Wednesday that the investigation into Freiburg Archbishop Robert Zollitsch has been closed.

The southwestern city of Konstanz had been investigating an unidentified complaint that alleged Zollitsch was responsible for hiring a priest in 1987 known to have sexually abused minors. Zollitsch now heads the German Bishops Conference and at the time was in charge of human resources at the Freiburg diocese.

The archdiocese has rejected the allegations.

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