The confession by Jean-Pierre Grallet, 81, deepens a gathering storm around the French Catholic church that has been sparked by fresh revelations of sexual abuse by senior clergy.

Grallet said in a statement that he "profoundly regretted" his actions in the 1980s when he "strayed" and "hurt someone" before being named archbishop of Strasbourg in eastern France in 2007.

He gave no further details, but the Strasbourg prosecutor's office confirmed that an investigation had been underway since January for "incidents of a sexual nature".

The current archbishop of the city, Luc Ravel, said he had notified prosecutors after a woman approached him and outlined alleged abuse by Grallet.

Last week, the Bishops' Conference of France announced that 11 former or serving French bishops had been accused of sexual violence, including a cardinal who confessed to assaulting a minor more than three decades ago.

Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, a retired bishop of Bordeaux, admitted publicly to "reprehensible" acts with a 14-year-old girl in the 1980s.

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