Hussite church suspends bishop over sex scandal

The Czechoslovak Hussite church has suspended its bishop for Prague Karel Bican pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings against him in the wake of a sex scandal. The fifty-five-year-old bishop who is married had been caught on tape demanding sex from a former male convict whom he had helped upon his release from prison. The scandal erupted last autumn when extracts of the tape were published by a Czech magazine. Mr Bican had initially denied the veracity of the tape, but then confessed when church authorities said they wanted to subject it to voice analysis. The Protestant Hussite Church was established after Czechoslovakia became an independent state in 1918. With over 100,000 members, it is the third largest church in the Czech Republic.