Limburg Vicar General resigns over the way he dealt with suicide of progressive associate of Bishop Bätzing
Bishop Bätzing is head of the German Catholic Bishops' Conference
Limburg Vicar-General resigns over the way he dealt with assaults by priest
Cathedral Dean Wolfgang Pax (64) was appointed as the new head of administration.
The Vicar General of the Catholic Diocese of Limburg, Wolfgang Rösch (63), has resigned because he made mistakes in clearing up behaviour involving assaults by a priest. Cathedral Dean Wolfgang Pax (64) was appointed as the new head of administration.
Wolfgang Rösch did not inform Bishop Bätzing about accusations against priest.
As the diocese announced on Tuesday, Rösch had not informed Bishop Georg Bätzing about accusations against the priest, Christof May. May had been promoted to Head of the Seminary in 2018 and had taken his own life in June 2022.
Bätzing had released him from all offices the day before in order to be able to examine and clarify allegations of behaviour involving assaults. The Diocese later announced that the allegations had been substantiated and had resulted in disciplinary but not criminal measures for May.
Christof May: bearer of hope and accused
May most recently served as head of the seminary in Limburg
The suicide of the Limburg Rector after accusations against him leaves the Diocese in a state of shock. There are many unanswered questions. Christof May was popular in the Diocese - one sermon made particularly high waves.
The first tribute came from the Diocese of Limburg itself. "The death of Christof May affects us all. We have lost a committed and much appreciated pastor," it said in an internal e-mail to the diocesan staff, informing them of the Regen's death.
The investigators assume that the death was a suicide. The clergyman had previously been interviewed by Bishop Georg Bätzing on "allegations of behaviour involving assaults" and had been released from all duties until the matter was resolved. The Diocese emphasised that its "thoughts are also with those who reported the allegations".
Limburg Diocese "shocked" by death of seminary director
After the death of the Head of the Seminary, Christof May, there is "dismay and bewilderment" in the Limburg diocese. One day earlier, Bishop Bätzing had released him from all offices because of "allegations of behaviour involving assaults". The public prosecutor's office assumes that he committed suicide.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported that in the weeks before, the responsible contact persons in the Diocese had become aware of accusations against May. These were "recorded in accordance with the guidelines in conversation with the persons presumed to be affected and, after an initial assessment of their plausibility, made available to the bishop", the newspaper writes.
Who was Christof May?
Christof May belonged to the Limburg Cathedral Chapter, he was Episcopal Vicar for Church Development - and thus a close associate of Limburg Bishop Bätzing. "The death of the priest is very depressing for everyone in the diocese, especially also for the bishop, those responsible for personnel and the diocese management, and leaves open questions," the diocese emphasised in its statement.
The priest, who comes from the Westerwald parish of Waldbrunn (Limburg-Weilburg), had studied philosophy and theology at the Sankt Georgen University in Frankfurt and at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He received his doctorate there in 2004, after which he became chaplain in Königstein and Kronberg. Before becoming Regens in 2018 and thus responsible for Priestly formation in the diocese, May was district dean in the regions of Wetzlar and Lahn-Dill-Eder.
There he was popular and known for his clear words in church services. He attracted national attention with a sermon on 4 October 2020 that went viral on the internet. In it, he vehemently demanded an opening of the Catholic Church, especially with regard to remarried divorcees and homosexual couples.
Clear distance from the official attitude of the Church
In his Thanksgiving sermon, May also criticised the fact that women have no access to ordination offices in the Catholic Church. "Theologians who bring arguments for the ordination of women are muzzled." These are tones that one very rarely hears from high clergymen. He clearly distanced himself from the official attitude of the church.
The President of the Diocesan Assembly in the Limburg Diocese, Gerhard Glas, reacted with shock to the news of May's death. "He was a real bearer of hope," he told the FAZ. May had made decisive contributions to the synodal bodies. Bishop Bätzing was in demand as a bridge builder between those for whom change was too slow and those for whom it was too fast, said Glas.
May and Bätzing as driving forces in the reform process
Bätzing, president of the German Bishops' Conference since 2020, is considered one of the driving forces behind the reform process of the German Catholics. This "Synodal Way" seeks concrete changes - participation of the faithful in the election of bishops, the blessing of homosexual couples and, if possible, the diaconate of women. The Vatican is following the German renewal efforts with the greatest suspicion. Conservative bishops from all over the world have already taken a stand against them with harsh statements.
Christof May, who lived to the age of 49, formulated it tellingly in his sermon four years ago: "I wish for an arable field, a vineyard of the Lord that is colourful - and not next to, but in the midst of society."
The abuse allegations against him are now part of the processing announced by the diocese. It is not yet known what accusations have been made against May. The faithful who held May in such high esteem are also likely to have many unanswered questions at present.
Help with suicidal thoughts
Suicidal thoughts are often a consequence of mental illness. The latter can be alleviated and even cured with professional help. Here you can find help for those affected and their relatives.
The telephone counselling service is available free of charge and anonymously around the clock under the national telephone number: 0800 - 111 0 111 or 0800 - 111 0 222.
In order to protect the anonymity of callers, the transmission of the telephone number is blocked and is therefore not shown in any display of the telephone counselling service. Calls to the telephone counselling service are also not listed in the itemised bill.
The telephone counselling service can also be contacted on the internet at: telefonseelsorge.de.Further information on support services - for example self-help groups - can be found on the website of the German Society for Suicide Prevention: suizidprophylaxe.de
Cathcon: The equivalent organisation in the US (1 (800) 273-TALK) and the UK is the Samaritans (116123).
Update background
"Joint conversation was a mistake
The death of the 49-year-old had agitated the diocese last year. Bishop Bätzing, who is also president of the German Bishops' Conference, had commissioned an external jurist to investigate the case. "The lawyer's findings are now available and have made it clear to me that I made mistakes," Rösch wrote in the letter to the Diocese's staff: "I am personally drawing consequences for this by asking to be relieved of the office of Vicar General."
Rösch went on to write that in 2015 he had wrongly assumed that May's "accusations of behaviour involving assaults" towards adults were groundless: "At the time, I held a joint conversation with an affected person and the accused. That was a mistake. This joint conversation could not do justice to the person concerned." Rösch added: "I ask forgiveness from all those who have been hit and hurt by my misconduct."
In the future, too, he said, he wanted to help shape the Church "in our diocese. In whatever capacity". Rösch had taken over from former Limburg Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst in May 2013. He had to resign from his post in Limburg due to the explosion of construction costs for his new Bishop's residence to over 30 million euros and heavy criticism of his conduct of office."
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