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Published by
The National Herald,
February 25, 2005
Head of
scandal-ridden Greek church rejects calls to quit |
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ATHENS, Greece (AP) The head of
Greece's powerful Orthodox Church on Friday
rejected growing calls for him to step down, but
said two of his close aides had been suspended
amid mounting scandals.
"An archbishop does not resign," Archbishop
Christodoulos told reporters outside the
archdiocese.
Two senior bishops and the head of the parish
priests' association have called on Christodoulos,
66, to quit, following revelations that he was
acquainted with lower-ranking clergy directly
implicated in trial-fixing and other major
corruption allegations.
"Of course I have heard those calls. I weighed
them and I rejected them straight away because I
am not part of the problem," Christodoulos told
private Alpha television.
"I am called upon to lead a clean up of the
church."
Christodoulos said Metropolitan bishop Theoklitos
of Thessaly, a close ally, handed in his
resignation, while the church's spokesman also has
been suspended.
The Orthodox Church, which represents the official
state religion, has been stunned by daily
allegations of embezzlement, corruption and even
sexual escapades.
One metropolitan bishop has been suspended for six
months and two lower-ranking priests have been
arrested and taken into custody, while police have
launched a manhunt for a fugitive drug-trafficking
suspect who is a central figure in the church
scandals.
The corruption allegations also have implicated
senior clergy at the Orthodox Patriarchate of
Jerusalem, which is closely allied with Athens.
Last week, Greek church elders approved sweeping
measures to increase financial transparency in the
rarely scrutinized institution.
At a meeting of the governing Holy Synod,
Christodoulos easily defeated a no-confidence
motion by 67-1 votes.
But the scandals have badly damaged the church
leader's image.
A poll published Friday in Athens newspapers
showed Christodoulos'
popularity has plummeted from 65.5 percent in May
2004 to 41.7 percent last Monday. The nationwide
survey by the Metron Analysis company of
2,193 Greek adults did not include a margin of
error.
The survey also found that 60 percent of those
polled favor full separation of church and state a
sharp increase from the 44.5 percent in July 2002.
Separation would require constitutional change.
Greece's conservative government has distanced
itself from Christodoulos since the crisis broke
but has not supported calls for him to quit.
"We are not raising an issue of resignation for
the archbishop,"
Education and Religion Minister Marietta Giannakou
told state-run NET television late Thursday.
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