The Regensburg diocese in Pope Benedict's native Bavaria confirmed new allegations of child sexual abuse against four priests and two nuns on Monday, in the latest cases damaging the Catholic Church's image in Germany.

Those suspected of sexual abuse will be suspended pending the investigation, it added.

One of the four priests resides in Regensburg, and the dioceses of the three others have been informed of the charges, the Church statement said. The nuns suffer from dementia and are barely responsive, it added.

Most of the alleged incidents occurred in the 1970s, though one was in 1984, it said.

The new allegations follow a series of allegations of sexual and physical abuse at the cathedral choir in Regensburg, the Benedictine monastery school at Ettal and a Capucian school in Burghausen that have come to light in recent weeks.

More than 250 people are alleged to have been abused at church-run schools in recent decades, German media reports say.

On Saturday, Pope Benedict "apologised" to Irish sexual abuse victims in an official letter but stopped short of addressing charges in his native Germany or other countries, disappointing many German Catholics hoping for at least a brief comment.

Reuters