Church delays decision on pastor's teen love affair
The future of a female Church of Sweden pastor is in the balance following revelations that she had a love affair with a 15-year-old confirmation candidate.
The Stockholm Cathedral Chapter of the Church of Sweden (Domkapitlet) considered the facts of the case on Tuesday and could not reach a decision on what disciplinary action to take against the pastor.
"I can't give any indication as to how the case will go. I am not party to the decision and as it is an ongoing matter I am not at liberty to comment," Annika Sjöqvist Platzer at the Church of Sweden said to The Local on Wednesday.
The chapter will meet again on April 7th to decide the fate of the pastor.
The pastor, who is in her thirties, met the 15-year-old boy at a confirmation retreat last summer.
The pair began a love affair in between prayer and other activities at the camp intended to prepare girls and boys for their rite of initiation into the church.
"I have never been so in love with another person," the pastor said, according to chapter documents.
Following the camp the pastor and the boy travelled together on an autumn trip to Taizé in France on a tour of monasteries organized by their congregation in the Stockholm area.
The nature of the relationship between the woman and the boy became known during this trip.
Colleagues of the pastor reported the affair in February 2009 and the Stockholm Cathedral Chapter opened an investigation into her conduct.
The pastor argued in her defence that yes, she had engaged in a love affair with the teenager, but that the relationship had now ended.
She is not suspected of any criminal offence.
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The Stockholm Cathedral Chapter of the Church of Sweden (Domkapitlet) considered the facts of the case on Tuesday and could not reach a decision on what disciplinary action to take against the pastor.
"I can't give any indication as to how the case will go. I am not party to the decision and as it is an ongoing matter I am not at liberty to comment," Annika Sjöqvist Platzer at the Church of Sweden said to The Local on Wednesday.
The chapter will meet again on April 7th to decide the fate of the pastor.
The pastor, who is in her thirties, met the 15-year-old boy at a confirmation retreat last summer.
The pair began a love affair in between prayer and other activities at the camp intended to prepare girls and boys for their rite of initiation into the church.
"I have never been so in love with another person," the pastor said, according to chapter documents.
Following the camp the pastor and the boy travelled together on an autumn trip to Taizé in France on a tour of monasteries organized by their congregation in the Stockholm area.
The nature of the relationship between the woman and the boy became known during this trip.
Colleagues of the pastor reported the affair in February 2009 and the Stockholm Cathedral Chapter opened an investigation into her conduct.
The pastor argued in her defence that yes, she had engaged in a love affair with the teenager, but that the relationship had now ended.
She is not suspected of any criminal offence.
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