A pastor from the northern Upper Palatinate convicted of sexual abuse has lodged an appeal against his dismissal from the service of the Bavarian state church. The appeal had been lodged with the disciplinary chamber in good time, said a legal officer for the regional church on Friday. His lawyer had to submit a reasoning by the end of December, she explained. Should this happen, the ecclesiastical disciplinary chamber of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) in Hanover will be responsible as the next higher authority. As long as the judgment is not final, the pastor will continue to receive his salary.
On September 14, the disciplinary chamber of the Bavarian state church decided to finally dismiss the pastor and deputy dean from the service. He had already been temporarily suspended from work in Wirbenz and in the deanery in Weiden in December 2020 after the public prosecutor’s investigations became known. In June 2021, the district court in Weiden issued a penalty order with a prison sentence of eleven months on probation against the pastor. He was charged with sexual abuse using a counseling relationship. The pastor was accused of taking advantage of the situation against an adult young woman.