Woman bishop who leads Germany's Protestant church caught drink-driving. The woman bishop who leads Germany's Protestant Church has been caught drink-driving by police.
Bishop Margot Kaessmann was pulled over on Saturday evening after driving a red light in Hannover city centre.
The bishop, who was at the wheel of a church vehicle, smelled of alcohol and was asked to take a breath test.
Kaessman was found to be well over the legal limit and was taken to a nearby police station for a blood test.
Drin-drive charge: Bishop Margot Kaessmann was stopped in Hannover on Saturday night when she went through a red light
'I’m shocked at myself,' Kaessmann told daily Bild. 'I am aware of how dangerous and irresponsible drunk driving is. I will, of course, confront the legal consequences.'
A church spokesman told news magazine Der Spiegel that Kaessmann’s blood alcohol content was 1.1 per mill, not 1.3 per mill as initially reported by Bild.
The former is at the threshold of the legal limit, while the amount of 1.54 per mill as confirmed by the state prosecutor constitutes being 'absolutely unfit to drive' according to German law.
Meanwhile, Hannover police have taken Kaessmann’s driver’s license and have started an investigation into the matter.
Margot Kaessmann became the first woman to lead the 25 million members of Germany's Protestant churches in October 2009 after the majority of the synod voted in her favour.
The bishop has proposed a radical reform for the Evangelische Kirche Deutschland (EKD), which suffers from shrinking congregations and revenues.
In addition to streamlining the clergy, she plans to increase the church’s profile and improve strained relations with Catholics.
Mrs Kaessmann is known as an outspoken, tolerant and humorous leader.
She once said: 'Crabby Christians are a contradiction in themselves.'
She has called for Germany to withdraw its troops in Afghanistan, calling the military action there 'unjustified'.
The mother of four was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, but has made a full recovery.
She also divorced her husband of 26 years in 2007. ( dailymail.co.uk )
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