Bishop resigns after not following up on sexual abuse allegations

LAYERS OF IRONY

from Midwest Conservative Journal by The Editor

Germany’s first female bishop has resigned:

The first woman elected to serve as a Lutheran bishop has resigned, following allegations of failing to investigate cases of sexual abuse in her diocese.

The Bishop of Hamburg, Rt. Rev. Maria Jepsen, who in 1992 was elected leader of the North Elbian Lutheran Church and became the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany’s (EKD) first woman bishop, resigned on July 16, telling reporters she could not continue in office with her integrity in doubt.

A diocesan committee has been investigating allegations that a pastor in the town of Ahrensburg had molested approximately 20 children in the 1980s. Bishop Jepsen said she had only become aware of cases in March of this year when she received a letter from one of the victims.

However, the news magazine Der Spiegel and the newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt have contradicted these claims, stating the bishop knew of the priest’s suspected behavior in 1999.

“My credibility has been contested,” Bishop Jepsen told reporters in Hamburg. “For that reason, I do not see myself in a position to continue to spread God’s word as I had promised.”

Let’s see. You didn’t resign because you knew about a sexual predator eleven years ago and were caught in a lie. You resigned because someone questioned your integrity. Apostolic of you.

Oh, and Bishop? To folks around these parts, quitting in a situation like this is pretty much the same thing as admitting that the German media has you dead-to-rights.