Germany: Lutheran female bishop resigns in pedophile cover-up scandal

Saturday, July 17, 2010
By Martin Barillas

Bishop Maria Jepsen, the first woman to be anointed bishop in the Lutheran Church, resigned on July 16 having recognized that her credibility had been put into doubt, with respect to numerous cases of sexual abuse committed within her church.

Ordained bishop in 1992, Bishop Jepsen transferred Pastor Dieter K. in 1999 to a prison chaplaincy in order to prevent further contact with children. However, according to Der Spiegel, she did not notify anyone of suspicions that the Lutheran pastor had sexually abused minor. Pastor Dieter K. gave religion classes at an institute in Ahrensburgh even while no one at the school had been notified of his record of abuse. the rest