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Since the publication of the pilot study on abuse within the Swiss Catholic Church, 52 victims have filed a request for financial compensation with the Church Compensation Commission.
Liliane Gross, president of the Compensation Commission. © Kath.ch
Published on 05/10/2024
Estimated reading time: 1 minute
Today, “the money is still enough for four to five cases,” says Liliane Gross, president of the Commission for the compensation of victims of sexual abuse committed in the ecclesial context and prescribed, confirming an article in the Blick. Since the creation of the commission in 2017, the annual number of people who have filed a request for moral reparation has varied quite a bit: 44 cases in 2017, 52 in 2018, 25 in 2019, 21 in 2020, only 9 in 2021, 17 in 2022 and 34 in 2023.
The publication last September of the pilot study on abuse in the Catholic Church encouraged more victims of abuse to file a request for reparation. Since October (until May 3 inclusive) 52 people have notified themselves to the Commission, including 32 since the start of the year.
The ordinary allowance amounts to around half a million francs per year. After payment of pending cases, approximately 78,400 francs would remain in the fund until mid-June, according to its president. Just enough for four to five cases. It is theoretically possible that fewer people will come forward and that the number of applications will stabilize, but Liliane Gross does not think this is realistic.
The President of the Commission expects a positive response from donors. “The money will arrive, and on time. I assume that we will never find ourselves in the situation where we have decided positively on a case, but where we cannot pay the money.” And to specify that the Commission has one to two months to rule on a case.
