Report on Abuse Has First Consequences in the Catholic Church
Published: Wednesday, Sep 13th 2023, 16:00
Actualizado el: Viernes, Oct 13th 2023, 14:12
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The day after the release of the University of Zurich's report on abuse cases in the Catholic Church, Swiss bishops apologised and promised to improve. Consequences were immediate: the Abbot of Saint-Maurice stepped down, the Bishop of St. Gallen filed a criminal complaint, and a Bern cantonal politician proposed suspending payments to the Church. Abbot Jean César Scarcella of St. Maurice VS announced he would step down until the investigations against him were complete, and promised to cooperate fully with the investigation leader, Bishop Joseph Bonnemain. Bishop Alain de Raemy of Lugano admitted his diocese had destroyed numerous documents related to abuse cases, and promised to create an independent reporting centre for sexual assaults. Bishop Markus Büchel of St. Gallen acknowledged "grave errors" and announced a criminal complaint against an unnamed priest, referred to in the university study as "Priest Tätscheli", whose alleged crimes had been ignored by his predecessor Ivo Fürer. Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey of Sitten denied any knowledge or cover-up of the cases, and said he would resign if the investigation into sexual abuse and its cover-up implicated him. The other bishops expressed their shock and dismay at the results of the study, and Bishop Charles Morerod of Lausanne, Geneva and Freiburg promised to work for a cultural change within the Church. Bern cantonal politician Tobias Vögeli proposed financial consequences for the Catholic Church until a concept is presented that comprehensively and transparently deals with and prevents abuse cases in the Bern canton in recent decades.nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
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