Enlarge image

Town sign of Schechen

Photo: Peter Kneffel / dpa

Because a couple had sex in an Upper Bavarian church, the altar there has been newly blessed. The blessing had already taken place before Christmas, said a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.

The altar in the Catholic church in Schechen in the district of Rosenheim had been cleared away for the rite, and the local priest had then blessed it again with incense and holy water during a service of the word.

"Insulting mischief"

The case had made headlines last year: The couple, who had sex in the church and also documented it, had to answer to the judiciary for it.

The woman involved has since accepted the corresponding penalty order against her. The trial planned for the beginning of February 2024 will therefore not take place, as the Rosenheim District Court announced. The amount of the penalty was not disclosed.

Her partner – because he is also accused of serious other crimes – has to answer to the Traunstein Regional Court. The trial against him continues, and the trial is scheduled to resume at the end of January.

The native of Rosenheim, who had not commented on the numerous allegations against him at the start of the trial, according to court information, is accused, among other things, of disturbing the practice of religion.

In a "place dedicated to the worship of a religious society," he had committed "insulting mischief," according to the indictment. He is also charged with assault, deprivation of liberty, threatening and fraud.

Rare case

It is rare for an altar to be re-blessed after a so-called desecration - for example through vandalism - as a survey of Catholic dioceses in Bavaria by the dpa news agency showed at the end of 2023. In the diocese of Augsburg, this has happened four times in recent years, as a spokesman said. All other dioceses reported no known cases.

In the Augsburg diocese, for example, this was the case in 2017 in Vöhringen and Bellenberg in the deanery of Neu-Ulm. There, the church interiors, including the altar and statues, had been extensively smeared – including with anti-Christian slogans. According to the information, another case took place in Gersthofen in 2018. Consecrated hosts were stolen and scattered.

wit/dpa