The bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, Charles Morerod, has been elected president of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference (CES). He will succeed the Bishop of Basel Felix Gmür for the period 2025 to 2027, announced the ETUC on Wednesday evening.
The Friborg prelate will be assisted by the Bishop of Chur Joseph Maria Bonnemain, elected vice-president. Josef Stübi, auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Basel, will be the third member of the presidency.
The Catholic Church in Switzerland is currently shaken by the affair of sexual abuse since the mid-20th century. In October, the Vatican ruled that an internal Church criminal procedure against Swiss bishops accused of having covered up cases of sexual abuse was “not necessary”. He issued reprimands, but did not impose any sanctions, despite “errors and negligence”.
Bishop Morerod himself received a personal letter signed by the prefect of the Dicastery for bishops, Robert Francis Prevost. He is criticized for not having always respected canonical procedures. However, it is mentioned that he has not committed any punishable offence, concealment, negligence or error which would require the opening of criminal proceedings.
