Bonnemain receives support in dealing with abuses
Published: Friday, Nov 10th 2023, 11:50
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Neuchâtel cantonal judge Pierre Cornu and Professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure at the University of Zurich Brigitte Tag are supporting the Bishop of Chur, Joseph Bonnemain, in investigating cases of abuse in the Catholic Church. Bonnemain was commissioned by Rome to investigate the conduct of four members of the Bishops' Conference.
In the case of three members, it is a matter of possible failure to report assaults, while one member is accused of sexual harassment, the Diocese of Chur and the Roman Catholic Central Conference of Switzerland (RKZ) wrote in a joint statement on Friday.
In September, the University of Zurich published the first analysis of secret archives of Roman Catholic institutions by historians. According to the study, Catholic clerics and members of religious orders have committed at least 1002 cases of sexual abuse in Switzerland over the past 70 years.
Independent support
The Presidium of the RKZ then declared that "in the interests of public credibility" it would involve independent experts in the preliminary investigation led by Bonnemain. With Cornu and Tag, the bishop would be assisted by an expert from German-speaking Switzerland and one from French-speaking Switzerland, the communiqué continued.
They would now jointly analyze the knowledge already gained, the documents collected and the interviews and surveys conducted.
It will then be up to Rome whether disciplinary measures are imposed or criminal proceedings are opened against individual members of the Swiss Bishops' Conference. Previously, Zurich's Director of Justice Jacqueline Fehr (SP) called for a criminal investigation into the cases of abuse in the Catholic Church. She instructed the public prosecutor's office to do so in September.
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