Bishop Bonnemain of Chur fights for church members on the phone
Published: Tuesday, Dec 10th 2024, 15:50
Back to Live Feed
On Tuesday, the Bishop of Chur, Joseph Maria Bonnemain, personally spoke out against the increasing number of people leaving the church. As part of a telephone campaign, he picked up the phone and responded to callers' questions, concerns and worries.
The telephone day was launched at a time when many people were considering leaving the church, writes the Catholic Church of the Canton of Zurich in a press release.
The church fights for every member - and does so personally. Bishop Joseph Maria Bonnemain, together with Synodal Council President Raphael Meyer and Vice President Vera Newec, Vicar General Luis Varandas and the Head of Hospital Pastoral Care, Sabine Zgraggen, took calls from Catholics between 12 noon and 7 pm. The phone was ringing off the hook.
"Criticism moves us forward"
Bishop Bonnemain told the Keystone-SDA news agency that the church wanted to ensure that all concerns, worries and uncertainties could be discussed openly. He was aware that he would also receive rejection or criticism on the phone. "If it is justified, criticism helps us move forward," said the 76-year-old.
The telephone campaign is linked to a survey on the reputation of the Catholic Church, which is being conducted by the opinion research institute Sotomo on behalf of the Church. The results will be published at the beginning of 2025. Initial results showed that 18% of Catholics have already considered leaving the church.
The credibility of the Catholic Church is suffering under the burden of cover-ups and crimes of past years and a reform backlog with regard to equality for women, it is said. Last year, it recorded a record number of resignations following the publication of a study on abuse. Bishop Bonnemain assumes that this figure will no longer be so high in 2024. He hopes that it will be recognized that the church is credibly trying to come to terms with the abuse.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic