Swedish bishop has to resign after affair

It was the Board of Responsibility for Bishops that decided to expel the bishop. This decision means that he is excluded from all the church offices, like bishop, priest or deacon. The decision was announced and clarified by Archbishop Antje Jackelén in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

“It is of course a sadness”, Jackelén said, according to the Swedish newspaper Dagen. “A painful event for everyone involved and for the whole church.”

The church’s leadership does not doubt that the bishop’s actions have significantly damaged the reputation that a bishop should have.

Broke his vows

The core problem is that Petersson, by becoming a priest, made a vow that he would practice his office “so that God is glorified, the church is built, and God’s will be realised in the world”, as explained by the Swedish paper Dagen.

In another vow that he has made, Petersson promised: “to live among men in such a way that you become a witness of the love of God and the secret of the Atonement”. In church documents, this vow is explained, so marriage fidelity is also part of that.

Apart from the forms and vows that are used in the church, in the end, it comes all down to the Holy Scriptures, says Robert Schött, chairman of the responsibility committee, to Dagen. “The Church of Sweden’s order is actually based on the Bible.”

According to this board, Petersson “violated promises he made at the consecration to the bishop of the Church of Sweden and that he was thereby aware that his own actions entailed such a breach of promise.” Particular emphasis is placed on the fact that the bishop did not show sufficient understanding that his “reputation, credibility and thus authority in the episcopal supervisory task over priests and deacons” were affected.

Petersson’s lover was a person who was employed by the diocese and with whom the bishop had a professional relationship. The affair existed for several years and gradually became known in the diocese. Seven pastors reported the bishop, and later, Petersson reported himself.

Decision is final

In a response to the official church magazine Kyrkans Tidning, Petersson says that he should have “acted differently”, but that he had hoped to continue as a priest. “Priest is what I have always been. I do not know what will happen now.”

The decision is final as well; no appeal is possible. Petersson was consecrated as a bishop in 2018 in Visby. The diocese consists of the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. The bishop of Visby is also responsible for the oversight of the Church of Sweden Abroad.

In the Swedish press, there is a lot of debate about the church’s decision. From a secular point of view, many doubt whether the bishop has done something wrong. Therefore, it is unclear whether the decision can be upheld legally if Petersson challenges Varlden Idag reports.

According to the Swedish media, it’s the first time since the disestablishment of the Church of Sweden in 2000 that a bishop has been dismissed. The church has thirteen dioceses with a bishop.

Unfit for office

Today, the Church of Sweden is seen as relatively liberal and tolerant, especially towards relationship matters. For that reason, the removal of Thomas Petersson came as a shock to many Swedes, explains Joel Halldorf, professor of church history at Enskilda University in Stockholm to the Danish newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad.
“In ordinary working life, an affair of infidelity would probably not have these severe consequences. In that way, the dismissal is a reminder that the promises made by a clergyman by ordination are something to be taken seriously and that it is impossible to distinguish between the bishop’s public mission and his or her private life, “says Joel Halldorf.

He notes that both the Responsibility Committee, which decided to remove the bishop, and Sweden’s Archbishop Antje Jackélen have been careful to emphasise that the case was unique:

“The dismissal is not only due to an affair of infidelity but is based on a combination of factors. It lasted for two years, and the bishop himself does not seem to have understood the seriousness of this. All this makes one question the bishop’s judgment and say that he is unfit for office,” says Joel Halldorf.