The latest report on cases of abuse in Swiss churches shows, among other things, that the number of people affected is massively higher than previously assumed. According to the Berner Zeitung, the Swiss Bishops' Conference had so far published only 380 reports of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The preliminary study already identifies 1002 sexual abuse cases since 1950 in Switzerland alone.

Andreas Kyriacou, President of the Freethinkers' Association of Switzerland criticises: "It is also a failure of the secular state. If it gives religious communities a state seal of approval, then it has a responsibility to ensure that they seek to prevent abuses and, if they do occur, to inform the relevant branches of the state and hand over all necessary documentation."

Perpetrators protected
In the preliminary study, it became clear that church leaders ignored, concealed or trivialised sexual abuse until the 2000s in most of the cases evaluated. When they were forced to act, they often did so not with the victims in mind, but to protect the perpetrators, the institution and their own position. In many cases, sexual abuse was "sat out", the accused were transferred and those affected and those in the know were obliged to remain silent. In this way, those responsible in the church accepted that further cases of sexual abuse would occur.

Valentin Abgottspon, Vice-President of the Freethinkers' Association of Switzerland, notes: "The whole thing is not just an abuse scandal, but also an abuse cover-up scandal. Too often, and right up to the present day, there has been appeasement, turning a blind eye and a cover-up. It has been proven many times that church institutions - in Switzerland as well as worldwide - were actively involved in the fact that no state prosecution was possible. I understand that many people no longer have confidence in this church and are turning their backs on it. However, I hope that at least the state will regain trust by no longer looking the other way but becoming active. Politics and the authorities must no longer work with kid gloves here and look the other way."

No special rights for churches
The first systematic attempt now available to scientifically record and outline the issue primarily clarified the questions of access to archives, the state of research and documentation of cases of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church as well as the efforts made so far in dealing with and preventing them. More details will become known. It would be astonishing if things were different in Switzerland than in most European countries, some of which are already further along in dealing with the issue. The Freethinkers' Association of Switzerland reiterates its demand that religious communities should not be given special rights.

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