At the end of 2021, the Catholic Church in Switzerland commissioned two historians to investigate sexual abuse within the organization. The move follows evidence of sexual abuse on a staggering scale within the organization in France. On April 4, 2022, a date was announced for the opening of the secret episcopal archives, reports RTS. Work will begin on May 1, 2022.
The researchers leading the investigation are from the University of Zurich. Organizations requesting the survey include the Swiss Episcopal Conference, KOVOS and RKZ, three Catholic associations in Switzerland. The written agreement to continue the investigation was signed in November 2021. This is the first time that the three organizations have met on the subject of sexual abuse.
The two historians from the University of Zurich who are investigating the abuses will be assisted by an independent scientific committee of six other people.
Work will begin on May 1, 2022, and results are expected in the fall of 2023. The survey will focus on sexual abuse of children and adults committed during the second half of the 20th century and will cover all linguistic regions of Swiss.
Countless people have endured deep suffering related to sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, the organization said.
The results of a survey of the Catholic Church in France published in early 2021 detail the abuse of 216,000 children by clergy between 1950 and 2020, a figure that rises to 330,000 when complaints against lay members of the Church, such as teachers in denominational schools, are included. The vast majority of victims were boys, who fell prey to no less than 3,200 attackers.
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RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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