Osnabrück Bishop Franz-Josef Bode has resigned. The 72-year-old is the first Catholic bishop in Germany to take this step in connection with the abuse scandal. Pope Francis has already accepted the resignation, the Vatican announced on Saturday. Bode justified his resignation primarily with his own mistakes in dealing with sexual abuse. The interim report on the processing of sexualized violence in the diocese of Osnabrück “made this clear to him again,” the bishop explained on Saturday. The report was published last September.
According to Bode, he expressly acknowledges his responsibility as bishop and his personal mistakes: “Today I can only ask everyone concerned for forgiveness again.” The decision to resign had matured in recent months, the bishop explained in a statement in which he gave several reasons for this step. Against the background of the loss of trust he has suffered, he hopes that his resignation as bishop, which has now been completed, can also have a liberating effect on the people in the diocese. The time is also suitable because the measures he announced to improve the handling of cases of sexualized violence have been launched: “The diocesan protection process against sexualized violence and spiritual abuse has been significantly strengthened, the work-up is continuing.”
Failing health as another reason
In addition, with the provisional conclusion of the synodal path of the Catholic Church in Germany, an important interim goal has been achieved. On this basis, he was able to implement further concrete reform projects for the diocese of Osnabrück, said Bode. However, further steps would still require a lot of strength, which he could no longer muster himself: “Because I noticed that my increasingly poor health no longer allows me to carry out my leadership tasks in Osnabrück and in the church in Germany for another three years. “
Born in Paderborn, Bode was the longest-serving incumbent Catholic bishop in Germany. Since 2017 he has also been deputy chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference. With the resignation from his office as bishop, he also resigns as a member of the bishops’ conference. The diocese of Osnabrück is no longer occupied with immediate effect, and the period of vacancy in the see begins. Canon law stipulates that the office of vicar general expires at the same time as the bishop and all the bodies assigned to the bishop cease to exist.
The chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, accepted the resignation with “great regret and respect”. “I would have liked to have seen you by our side for more years in the German Bishops’ Conference. At the same time, I understand your decision and the associated consequences.”