Bishops in Switzerland Release Statement after its Study Reports Over 1000 Cases of Abuse Since the 1950s
In 2021, the three national ecclesiastical institutions of Switzerland – the ETUC, the RKZ and the KOVOS – jointly decided to carry out independent scientific research into the history of sexual abuse committed against minors and adults by Catholic clergy, church employees and members of religious communities in Switzerland since the 1950s. The results of the one-year pilot project (2022-2023) were published on September 12, 2023. The collaboration with the historical seminar of the University of Zurich will continue as part of a follow-up project (2024-2026) worth 1.5 million francs. In addition, the three ecclesiastical constituents have decided on other measures on a national scale.
It is a question of the Church looking into its past and assuming its responsibilities towards the people concerned and society as a whole. The main objective is to fight even more resolutely against abuses within its own ranks and against their causes, but also to prevent further abuses.
Press Release Catholic Bishops of Switzerland To find out more about the project: www.abus-cath-info.ch
The Swiss Bishops' Conference (SBK), the Conference of Religious Orders and Other Communities of Consecrated Life in Switzerland (KOVOS) and the Roman Catholic Central Conference of Switzerland (RKZ) have commissioned the History Seminar of the University of Zurich to investigate sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic environment -Catholic Church since the middle of the 20th century (1950s). In a one-year pilot study, a four-person research team led by professors Monika Dommann and Marietta Meier examined the topic. Not only all dioceses in all language regions of Switzerland were included, but also the state church structures and religious communities. This brought the Catholic Church in Switzerland into view as a whole. With a few exceptions, the project team was given the necessary access to the archives without any major hurdles. This made it possible to examine tens of thousands of pages of previously secret files that had been created by those responsible for the Catholic Church since the middle of the 20th century. In addition, numerous conversations were held with those affected by sexual abuse and other people.
Statistics
The research team found evidence of a wide range of cases of sexual abuse - from problematic border crossings to the most serious, systematic abuses that lasted for years. A total of 1002 cases, 510 accused and 921 affected persons were identified. In 39 % of the cases the person affected was female and in just under 56 % was male. For 5 %, the gender could not be clearly determined in the sources. With a few exceptions, the accused were men. Of the files evaluated during the pilot project, 74 % revealed sexual abuse of minors. 14 percent affected adults and in 12 percent of the cases the age could not be clearly determined.
“The identified cases are undoubtedly just the tip of the iceberg,” explain Monika Dommann and Marietta Meier. Numerous archives in which further cases of abuse are likely to be documented have not yet been evaluated, such as archives of religious communities, documents of diocesan committees and the archives of Catholic schools, boarding schools and homes as well as state archives. The destruction of files can be documented for two dioceses. In addition, it can be proven that not all reports were consistently recorded in writing and archived. “In view of the findings from unreported research, we assume that only a small
proportion of the cases were ever reported,” said the researchers.
Sexual abuse in pastoral work
Cases of sexual abuse have been documented for the whole of Switzerland and the entire investigation period. The report identifies three social spaces with specific power constellations in which sexual abuse occurred: In the cases evaluated, pastoral care was the social space with the most cases of sexual abuse, at well over 50 percent. Certain areas of pastoral care were particularly vulnerable: pastoral care (situations such as confessions or consultations), altar server service and religious education. The work of priests within children's and youth associations should also be mentioned here. According to the study, a second important social space is the education and welfare sector of the Catholic Church, which performed central social functions, especially in the first half of the 20th century. Approximately 30 percent of the cases of sexual abuse evaluated were committed in Catholic homes, schools, boarding schools and similar institutions. A third field consists of orders and similar communities as well as new spiritual communities and movements (almost 2 percent of the cases evaluated). In this area, finding sources was particularly difficult.
Further research necessary The pilot project is the first systematic attempt to scientifically define and outline sexual abuse in the Swiss Catholic Church. Fundamental questions regarding archive access, the status of research and documentation of cases of abuse within the Catholic Church, and previous efforts to deal with and prevent them have now been clarified. This lays a basis for further research. According to the research team, further archive holdings must be consulted and the database expanded in future projects. In this way, more detailed statements can be made about the quantitative dimension of sexual abuse as well as temporal and geographical clusters.
In the future, the co-responsibility of the state should be examined more closely, especially in the social charitable and educational areas, because tasks were often delegated to the church, especially in Catholic areas. Finally, a further focus should be placed on the question of the Catholic specifics that may have encouraged sexual abuse in the church environment. These include, for example, sexual morality, celibacy, gender images within the church and its ambivalent relationship to homosexuality. The peculiarities of the Catholic milieu, which tacitly accepted and partially supported the dynamics of silence and denial described above, should also be further researched.
Source: https://www.news.uzh.ch/de/articles/media/2023/Missbrauch.html and
Image of Switzerland by Henrique Ferreira-Unsplash
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