Did she know about abuse cases?: Chairman of the Council of the Evangelical Church of Germany resigns

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The council chair of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Annette Kurschus, has resigned from her position following allegations of cover-up. She is also giving up her job as president of the Protestant Church in Westphalia, Kurschus said on Monday in Bielefeld. But she is at peace with it.

Allegations had previously been made against her that many years ago she was aware of suspicions of sexual misconduct against a church employee at the time. “I am resigning from both leadership positions in the church,” Kurschus said. In addition to her volunteer work at the head of the EKD, she has been president of the Westphalian Regional Church since 2012. She is also giving up this position.

According to a report in the “Siegener Zeitung”, Kurschus is said to have been informed early on of allegations of abuse against a former colleague in the Siegen church district, who is now suspected of criminal offences. However, it is said that she did nothing. The pressure on the EKD chairman, who represents some 19.2 million Protestant Christians, has increased enormously in recent days.

“I had no idea”

Kurschus had claimed to have only been aware of the Siegen case since early 2023, when an anonymous complaint was received against the now accused. “I had no prior knowledge of any form of sexual violence committed by this person.” The alleged incidents are said to have mainly occurred in the 1990s and the suspect has now retired.

The theologian also said she was friends with the man’s family. She had heard something about the homosexual tendencies of the man married to a woman and about his marital infidelity, but nothing about possible abuse. She was never interested in covering up a suspect.

Gives up his office

The Public Prosecution Service in Siegen (North Rhine-Westphalia) is investigating several suspected cases against a former church employee who, like Kurschus, worked in the Siegen church district in the 1990s. However, there had been an “absurd and damaging shift” in reporting as it now focused solely on their credibility and not on those affected by the abuse. That’s why she gives up her positions.

The 60-year-old Kurschus was chairman of the EKD for two years. After Margot Kässmann, she was the second woman to lead the German Protestants. (AFP/SDA)

Source: Blick