Allegation of cover-up: EKD council chairwoman Annette Kurschus resigns | EUROtoday

As of: 11:20 a.m | Reading time: 2 minutes

DThe council chairwoman of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Annette Kurschus, is stepping down from her place. The 60-year-old introduced this in a private assertion in Bielefeld on Monday. Allegations had beforehand been made in opposition to her that she had allegedly recognized a few years in the past about suspicions of sexually assaultive conduct in opposition to a church worker on the time. “I am resigning from both church leadership positions,” mentioned Kurschus. In addition to her voluntary work on the head of the EKD, she has been president of the Westphalian regional church since 2012. She can also be giving up this place.

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At the synod in Ulm nearly per week in the past, Kurschus emphasised that she emphatically rejected the “hints and speculations” made in opposition to her within the “Siegener Zeitung”. The Siegen public prosecutor’s workplace is investigating a number of suspected instances in opposition to a former church worker who, like Kurschus, labored within the Siegen church district within the Nineteen Nineties. According to the general public prosecutor’s workplace, it’s nonetheless unclear whether or not the person’s conduct was criminally related. For Kurschus, the core query is what the clergy knew in regards to the accused’s alleged misconduct and when.

Committees had distanced themselves

The strain on the EKD chairwoman, who represents round 19.2 million Protestant Christians, had grown enormously.

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Those affected within the EKD’s Sexual Violence Participation Forum had lately distanced themselves from the EKD council chairwoman. Their credibility is questioned and “clear, complete and independent clarification” is required. A committee spokesman described Kurschus as now not acceptable. The president of the synod, Anna-Nicole Heinrich, additionally saved her distance.

Kurschus had asserted that she had solely recognized in regards to the Siegen case because the starting of 2023, when an nameless criticism was acquired in opposition to the particular person now accused. “I had no prior knowledge of any acts of sexual violence committed by this person.” The alleged incidents are mentioned to have occurred primarily within the Nineteen Nineties and the accused is now retired.