WIESBADEN. Germany (dpa): A German priest has announced his resignation from his parish after 37 years of service after revealing a previously secret romantic relationship with a woman.
"The reason is that I am getting married," Andreas Unfried stated on the website of the St Ursula parish, located in the Taunus region near Frankfurt in western Germany.
He said he had informed Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg of his decision to step down in order to marry his "great love."
"Now love is calling me to the woman with whom I have long shared my life. Together, we will seek ways in which we can continue to live out our Christian faith and our vocation together from now on," Unfried wrote.
Diocesan spokesman Stephan Schnelle told dpa that Bishop Bätzing "immediately suspended" Unfried.
The diocese thanked him "for his decades of service and wishes him all the best." Bishop Bätzing had known nothing of the secret romantic relationship.
Schnelle added: "Cases like this happen time and again."
After so many years of service, however, it was unusual. As a result of his decision, Unfried would have to accept financial losses in future, the spokeswoman explained.
According to Church regulations, Catholic priests are bound by celibacy and may not marry. -- dpa
