A poll conducted by news aggregate website Eyjan shows most respondents saying Bishop of Iceland Karl Sigurbjörnsson should resign from his post.
As Grapevine reported, an investigation into the church was launched last fall when Guðrún Ebba Ólafsdóttir, daughter of former bishop Ólafur Skúlason, spoke out about the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. After several other women came forward saying the same, an investigation was launched.
Among the conclusions of the investigation was that Bishop of Iceland Karl Sigurbjörnsson – at the time of the incident just a priest on the church council – hid the initial letter of complaint submitted by Guðrún Ebba, and in fact did not file it with the church office for a year and a half.
While the bishop did apologise for having withheld evidence, he did not resign, and no priest on the church council submitted an official motion asking him to step down.
However, the Eyjan poll – which asked “Should Karl Sigurbjörnsson remain on as bishop of the national church?” – showed 54.6% responding No, 21% saying Yes, and 24.4% either unsure or unwilling to disclose their position. If only those who disclosed a position are considered, 72.2% want the bishop to resign.
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