DThe EKD council chairwoman Annette Kurschus announced her resignation on Tuesday. The 60-year-old theologian also announced on Monday morning that she was also resigning from her position as president of the Westphalian regional church with immediate effect.
The reason is reports of a possible case of abuse by a church employee in Siegen, where Kurschus worked for a long time as a pastor and superintendent. Kurschus, who knows the man and his family well, is accused of having been informed about the man’s misconduct at the end of the 1990s, which according to the public prosecutor’s investigation so far is not criminally relevant. Kurschus denies this.
“I wish I had been so attentive, so trained and so sensitive to behavior patterns that would alarm me today 25 years ago,” she said on Monday morning in Bielefeld. “I only noticed the homosexuality and marital infidelity of the accused.”
Kurschus: “I am at peace with God and myself”
Kurschus once again vehemently rejected allegations that she had covered up possible abuse. Nevertheless, there is no alternative to resigning from both positions. “I cannot do my ministry effectively if my sincerity is doubted daily and questioned again and again every day,” Kurschus said, adding: “I am at peace with God and myself, and so I leave very sadly, but I walk confidently and upright.”
The support of Kurschus in the EKD committees had noticeably dwindled in the past few days. This also had to do with the restrictive internal and external communication about the Siegen case. Kurschus was elected EKD council chairwoman in November 2021. She has been leading the Evangelical Church of Westphalia since 2012. In the event that Kurschus does not withdraw from the leadership of the EKD, the resignation of other members of the EKD Council was recently discussed, who expect full transparency on the subject of abuse. The representatives of those affected by abuse also described Kurschus as “no longer acceptable”.
However, there were also voices that warned against prejudgment of Kurschus and pointed to the open questions in the Siegen case. After her election to the top of the EKD, Kurschus herself declared the processing and prevention of sexual violence to be a “matter for the boss”. A large scientific study on sexual violence in Protestant churches and welfare institutions is to be presented in January.
The church leadership meets in the Westphalian regional church on Monday evening. It is expected that the meeting will also discuss the consequences of Annette Kurschus’ resignation and the consequences for the state synod coming up this weekend.
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