Minister resigns after row with bishop
A German state official who once said US President George Bush should be “shot down” resigned today over the political fallout from a row with a Roman Catholic bishop.
Andreas Renner, conservative social affairs minister in Baden-Wuerttemberg state, yielded to growing pressure over a remarks made to the Bishop of Rottenburg-Stuttgart last year.
Renner has acknowledged telling Bishop Gebhard Fuerst during a fierce argument over a gay parade that the church should allow its priests to have children.
Renner, a prominent member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, said he was leaving “with his head held high” in order to prevent further damage to the state government.
The minister also drew criticism last year for saying US President George Bush should be “shot down” over his handling of Hurricane Katrina.
