The Freethinkers Association of Switzerland has filed charges against the Bishop of the Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, Charles Morerod for assisting offenders under Article 305 of the Swiss Criminal Code. According to the media, the then newly appointed Bishop Morerod was informed in 2011 by a victim support organisation about the sexual assaults of a Catholic priest under his authority. Sanctions against the clergyman, however, had only been imposed after the first public statement of the presumed victim.

Article 305 of the Penal Code states that assisting someone to evade prosecution or the execution of a sentence or measure is punishable by a custodial sentence not exceeding three years or by a monetary penalty. In our opinion, the offence of assisting an offender has been committed in this case, provided that it can be confirmed that this transfer of files actually took place in 2011.

With the criminal charges filed, the Freethinkers want to make sure that the investigating authorities take action and seriously examine whether Morerod was at fault. It can no longer be the case that the Church behaves like a state within a state and protects suspected perpetrators from the access of the executive authorities. According to reports of the Tages-Anzeiger and the SRF, the case had been known within the church for decades, and a first discussion took place as early as 2001. Nevertheless, the accused was by no means suspended, but continued to work as a priest and remained a non-permanent member of the seminary.

The internal investigation of the diocese «concerning the failure to disclose information, lack of judgment and disappearance of documents», which took place much too late, is not sufficient. It also seems that in addition to this, there had been attempts to blame the victim for what happened. In connection with the systematic cover-up of cases of abuse in the ranks of the Roman Catholic Church, it has been shown time and time again that the Church’s own control mechanisms are missing or failing, and that therefore the rule of law must become active.

Andreas Kyriacou, President, andreas.kyriacou@frei-denken.ch, +41 76 479 62 96
Valentin Abgottspon, Vice President, valentin.abgottspon@frei-denken.ch, +41 78 671 08 03‬

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