The proceedings against the Protestant pastor Olaf Latzel for “sedition” that have been going on for years now appear to have come to an end. The Bremen regional court accepted a deal and discontinued the proceedings against a monetary requirement.
Inhalt / Content
A long way across the instances
The “Olaf Latzel file” now appears to have been finally closed. The Bremen regional court has closed the proceedings against the pastor of the St. Martini parish in Bremen. Latzel was originally sentenced to 3 months in prison by the Bremen district court in November 2020. The accusation was “sedition.” There was a conversion to a fine of 8,000 euros. But that wasn’t the last word spoken. After the defense appealed, the case went to the next instance, the Bremen Regional Court.
In May 2022, the regional court acquitted Olaf Latzel. The public prosecutor’s office did not want to accept this verdict and appealed. The case went to the Bremen Higher Regional Court. The judges agreed to overturn the lower court’s ruling and sent the charges back to the regional court (Info).
Proceedings temporarily discontinued
A trial date was scheduled again last Wednesday. The case in which a Protestant pastor is on trial for relying on biblical statements and preaching in his “rustic manner” has attracted attention. Latzel is a staunch opponent of the rainbow-colored queer scene, gender ideology and gay marriage. Latzel’s choice of words included, “The whole gender filth is an attack on God’s order of creation, is deeply diabolical and satanic.”
Characteristics that make him look like an “anti-queer hate preacher” in the relevant circles, such as the “taz“.
With the renewed proceedings before the Bremen regional court, the proceedings against Latzel were discontinued. However, this is not an acquittal, but a deal. Latzel’s defense requested that the proceedings be discontinued in return for a monetary payment. It was agreed to pay 5,000 euros to the Bremen organization “Rat- und Tat-Zentrum” for “queer life”.
Latzel apologized for his choice of words. Payment must be made within 6 months, otherwise the process will be restarted.
Attacked by his own housemates
The fact that the queer scenes mentioned by Latzel took to the barricades in order to be able to express their outrage with even greater volume is understandable and therefore common. The reactions and actions in the House of the Evangelical Churches in Germany (EKD) seem much more interesting here. One can say with a clear conscience that the officials and those who believe they are important jumped into Olaf Latzel’s back with a running start and stretched legs.
Bad personnel performance
Latzel is presented by the EKD media mouthpiece as a strict evangelical pastor who “also” does not shy away from belittling and insulting others. He insults gay and lesbian people (Source).
EKD raised the rainbow flag
The EKD itself reacted to Latzel’s statements by reaffirming its orientation towards a “liberal attitude” towards dealing with homosexuality.
The EKD rejects discrimination based on sexual orientation. “All people, including members of the LGBTQI+ community, are called to shape their partnership based on the biblical commandment of love,” said the EKD press release after Latzel’s acquittal by the Bremen regional court in May 2022 (Source).
Faithfulness to the Bible is radical?
The President of the Evangelical Reformed Church, Susanne Bei der Wieden, made a strange statement about the former acquittal. According to them, this judgment vindicates a “flat biblicism”. (Source).
Former president with a strange gospel
The former bishop of the regional church of Bavaria and chairman of the EKD council, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, linked the Latzel case to “intolerance against the gospel”. Such “derogatory and discriminatory attitudes must have no place in the church” (Source). Bedford-Strohm is a passionate supporter of ecumenism and longs for the Eucharist to be celebrated together with the Roman Catholic Church as soon as possible (Info).
Disciplinary proceedings still open
The Evangelical Church is currently still pending disciplinary proceedings against Latzes. It will be interesting to see what happens next here. They wanted to wait for the court verdict. But now there was no verdict. There is neither an acquittal based on the cover of freedom of expression nor the confirmation of “incitement to hatred”. You can wait for it with curiosity.
Anyone who is in the field of “flat biblicism” should not be surprised by such positions. The Bible says it will happen, and now it has. Pseudo-Christianity in the name of tolerance, gender ideology the new gospel.
Anyone who speaks out against it will end up on a silver platter like John the Baptist’s head once did. But with a short statement, Jesus Christ actually cleared up the misunderstanding of humanity hugging and cuddling in all colors. All you have to do is escape the tolerance frenzy, pick up the Bible and read it:
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
Matthew 10:34-36
Bible verses from King James Version (1611)
