Interim abbot of Saint-Maurice allegedly abused novices
Published: Monday, Nov 20th 2023, 15:40
Updated At: Monday, Nov 20th 2023, 15:43
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The interim abbot of Saint-Maurice in Valais has been accused of sexual abuse in a report by French-speaking Swiss television station RTS. The Greek and Latin teacher at the grammar school will no longer give lessons "until the facts have been clarified".
"We take these revelations seriously and feel empathy for the victims," the head of the Valais Department of Education, Jean-Philippe Lonfat, told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Monday. As far as he knew, the acts of which the churchman was accused were not connected to the college, Lonfat added. According to RTS, the interim abbot is said to have abused a novice.
The decision to suspend the man from teaching was communicated to the teachers and pupils on Monday morning. The Saint-Maurice secondary school has been in public hands since the signing of an agreement between the state and the abbey in September 2021.
"We will quickly analyze the possible impact of the RTS revelations on the agreement signed in 2021 between the state and the abbey, which governs relations between the two institutions," Lonfat continued.
In the past, the majority of the teaching staff at the college consisted of clergymen. Today, of the 100 teachers working at the school, there are only three teaching canons. Among them are the current rector and the accused interim abbot.
The man took over the management of Saint-Maurice Abbey in September after Abbot Jean Scarcella resigned. Scarcella is accused in the Catholic Church's abuse affair. He is being investigated by the apostolic special investigator Joseph Bonnemain. Saint-Maurice Abbey is not under the jurisdiction of the diocese of Sion, but reports directly to the Vatican.
Nine cases in Saint-Maurice
According to a report published on Sunday evening by the RTS program "Mise au Point", nine priests are allegedly involved in cases of sexual abuse within Saint-Maurice Abbey. Most of the cases covered in the program took place between 1995 and 2005.
The journalists relied on court documents as well as testimonies from victims and interviews with former employees of the institution.
Abbey signals cooperation
In a statement, Saint-Maurice Abbey said it was "cooperating fully with the judicial and ecclesiastical authorities". Of the nine cases mentioned in the RTS program, only one is currently pending, three have been decided in the last 20 years and five canons have been deceased for more than 15 years, the abbey added.
The Abbey of Saint-Maurice shares the pain of those affected and regrets that the church can involuntarily become the scene of such injustices, it says. And further: "The community of canons trusts that the civil and canonical authorities will treat all cases fairly and make just decisions."
©Keystone/SDA
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