A new survey shows a significant portion of priests in the national church believe Bishop Karl Sigurbjörnsson should resign from his post.
As reported, a poll conducted by news aggregate site Eyjan – 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.
A new poll, conducted by DV, directed the same question at priests in the national church. Of those polled, 70% responded, and among them, a little more than half said they believed the bishop should resign.
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.
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