Switzerland

The Swiss Bishops’ Conference has backed plans for a nationwide ban on conversion therapy, warning that attempts to suppress or alter a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity can amount to “spiritual abuse” The Swiss Bishops’ Conference has endorsed plans for a nationwide ban on conversion therapy. In a statement released on 26 May, the bishops said they supported a federal prohibition on what they described as “conversion measures”, as the Swiss parliament continues to debate legislation aimed at outlawing the practice across the country. The conference also said practices intended to alter or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity are incompatible with Catholic pastoral care and can amount to “spiritual abuse”. “The Swiss Bishops’ Conference firmly rejects conversion measures,” the statement said. “They are incompatible with a pastoral mission based on acceptance, truthfulness, and the protection of the individual.” The bishops said such practices could involve “pressure, blame, threats, isolation, denigration, or religious fear” in an effort to induce a person “to change or suppress their sexual orientation or gender identity”. “In a religious context, such practices can constitute spiritual abuse when people are shamed, threatened, or manipulated in the name of God,” the statement added. The Swiss bishops insisted, however, that any ban should clearly distinguish between coercive practices and legitimate pastoral accompaniment. They said “open-ended, respectful conversations and support” must not be criminalised where individuals freely seek advice or spiritual guidance. “Pastoral care is legitimate when it upholds the dignity and freedom of the individual, protects personal integrity, and does not exert undue influence,” the statement said. The bishops also backed legal safeguards intended to protect “minors and vulnerable persons” and said those affected by conversion practices should have “easy access to support, counselling, and complaint procedures”. Switzerland is moving closer towards a federal ban on conversion therapy following a series of measures at cantonal level. Several Swiss cantons have already prohibited conversion therapy, with Neuchâtel becoming the first to legislate against the practice in 2023. Valais, Vaud, Bern, St Gallen and Schaffhausen have since taken similar steps. The Federal Council earlier this year adopted its first national action plan against hate crimes targeting LGBT people, while parliament has continued discussions over a uniform national framework regulating conversion therapy. The bishops rooted their position in Catholic teaching on human dignity, saying every person must be protected from “violence, coercion, and abuse”. “According to the Christian understanding of humanity, respect for personal integrity as being created in the image of God is a fundamental right,” the statement said. The conference also cited Pope Leo XIV, referring to remarks he made shortly after his inauguration last year in which he said the Church must “bring the love of God to all people” and promote a unity that “does not eliminate differences but respects the history of each individual”. The Swiss bishops sought to draw that distinction directly in their own statement, arguing that legislation must be “clearly defined” so that ordinary pastoral care and professional psychotherapy remain protected while coercive or manipulative practices are outlawed. “A ban must be designed in such a way that it does not cover open-ended, respectful counselling and pastoral care, as well as professional psychotherapeutic support,” the bishops said. “Pastoral care must never exert pressure or shame people.”

Cardinal Emil Paul Tscherrig, the first non-Italian to serve as Apostolic Nuncio to Italy and San Marino, has died at the age of 79. The Swiss diplomat served the Holy See across four continents during a diplomatic career spanning almost five decades and later took part in the 2025 conclave as a cardinal elector Cardinal Emil Paul Tscherrig, the former Apostolic Nuncio to Italy and San Marino and the first non-Italian to hold the post, has died at the age of 79. His death on 12 May was confirmed by multiple Vatican sources to AdVaticanum and reported by the Italian outlet Silere Non Possum . No cause of death has yet been announced. Born in Unterems, Switzerland, on 3 February 1947, Tscherrig was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Sion on 11 April 1974. He later earned a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome before entering the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1978. Over the following decades, he served in apostolic nunciatures across the world, including in Uganda, South Korea, Mongolia and Bangladesh, while also working in the Secretariat of State during the pontificate of Pope St John Paul II. In 1996, Pope St John Paul II appointed him titular archbishop of Voli and Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi. Cardinal Angelo Sodano, then Secretary of State, presided at his episcopal consecration in Rome on 27 June that year. Tscherrig later represented the Holy See across the Caribbean, serving as nuncio to Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Bahamas, before receiving further appointments to Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Suriname and Saint Kitts and Nevis. In 2004, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to South Korea and Mongolia by Pope St John Paul II, before Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI named him nuncio to the Nordic countries in 2008, with responsibility for Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway. He was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Argentina on 5 January 2012. Following the election of Pope Francis in March 2013, Tscherrig revealed that the newly elected pontiff had telephoned him personally on the night of the conclave to ask that Argentine bishops and faithful not travel to Rome for the inauguration Mass. According to Tscherrig, Pope Francis said they should instead “give to the poor what they would have spent on the journey”. In September 2017, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Italy and San Marino, making him the first non-Italian diplomat ever chosen for the role, a position traditionally reserved for Italians because of its importance in relations between the Holy See and the Italian episcopate. Francis later elevated him to the College of Cardinals during the consistory of 30 September 2023, assigning him the deaconry of San Giuseppe in Via Trionfale. At the time of his death, Cardinal Tscherrig was a member of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Dicastery for Bishops, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints and the Dicastery for Evangelisation. He also served on the Commission of Cardinals for the Supervision of the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank. He retired as nuncio to Italy and San Marino in March 2024 and later participated as a cardinal elector in the 2025 conclave. Image credit: By Pufui PcPifpef – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=110190296

Swiss prosecutors have dismissed proceedings against Enrico Crasso, rejecting Vatican claims over fund mismanagement and criticising the Secretariat of State’s lack of cooperation Switzerland has dismissed criminal proceedings against Enrico Crasso, the former financial adviser to the Secretariat of State, concluding that no offences were committed in relation to the management of Vatican funds, delivering a further blow to the Holy See’s “Trial of the Century”. First reported by Nico Spuntoni, Vatican correspondent of Il Giornale , the decision was issued by Federal Prosecutor Annina Scherrer in Lugano following an investigation opened in June 2020 after a complaint by the Secretariat of State. The Vatican Secretariat of State had alleged criminal mismanagement in connection with investments made through the Centurion Global Fund, as well as raising accusations of fraud and corruption. The Swiss authorities found no evidence to support those claims. In her decree, Federal Prosecutor Scherrer determined that there had been no mismanagement or embezzlement on the part of Crasso in his role as a financial consultant. The ruling explicitly states that the Secretariat of State “must be considered an experienced investor, fully aware of the provisions to which it adhered”, rejecting the suggestion that it had been misled in its dealings. The case centred on investments managed by Crasso through his company, Sogenel Capital Investment, under a mandate from the Secretariat of State. These financial arrangements had already formed part of the broader Vatican investigation into the purchase of a London property in Sloane Avenue, a transaction that triggered one of the most significant financial trials in the history of the Holy See. The Swiss proceedings ran in parallel to the Vatican’s own judicial process. In the first-instance Vatican trial, Crasso had been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for embezzlement and self-laundering. However, he had been acquitted of charges specifically related to the management of the Centurion Fund. That distinction was noted in the Swiss prosecutor’s findings. The credibility of the Vatican trial has already been called into question after the Court of Appeal declared parts of the proceedings null. The Swiss ruling adds to the difficulties facing the prosecution’s case. However, the decree from Lugano contains direct criticism of the Vatican’s conduct during the investigation. Despite being the complainant, the Secretariat of State did not comply with requests from Swiss authorities to facilitate interviews with key figures connected to the case. According to the decree, Swiss investigators sought to question several individuals, including Monsignor Alberto Perlasca and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, through formal letters rogatory. These requests were not executed. In a note dated November 30, 2023, the Secretariat of State responded: “These are jurisdictional acts that cannot be performed by state authorities in the territory of another state,” adding that it would consider “the appropriateness of Swiss magistrates sending the tribunal the questions to be asked or the facts requested for examination.” Scherrer highlighted this refusal in her findings, describing the situation as paradoxical given that the Vatican itself had initiated the complaint. The decree records that the Swiss authorities received the response “not without surprise” and concluded that the lack of cooperation hindered the investigation. The prosecutor further observed that “interrogating the persons informed of the facts (…) would have been of fundamental importance to verifying the veracity” of the allegations. In light of the Vatican’s position, the Swiss authorities declined to proceed by submitting questions through the Vatican tribunal, citing concerns over the integrity of the process. The decree also points to what Scherrer described as “the influence of the private accuser and whistleblower within the Vatican State”, suggesting that internal dynamics may have affected the handling of the case. The refusal to allow direct questioning of witnesses was regarded as a significant obstacle to establishing the facts. The outcome leaves the Secretariat of State without recourse in the Swiss jurisdiction and raises further questions about the coherence of the wider legal strategy pursued by the Holy See. It follows earlier setbacks in other jurisdictions, including proceedings in England related to the London property deal. The Secretariat of State has not publicly responded in detail to the Swiss decision. The case nevertheless marks another stage in a protracted process that has tested the Holy See’s judicial structures and its approach to financial governance.

Bishop Marian Eleganti speaks to AdVaticanum on the appeal of the traditional liturgy, Islam and the Society of St Pius X. Eleganti addresses the fallout of the Second Vatican Council, the place of the old rite and the pertinent questions facing the Church in the West The Benedictine Bishop Marian Eleganti, former Abbot of St Otmarsberg Abbey and auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Chur until 2021, is well known for his defence of the truth and beauty of Catholicism in the face of an increasingly hostile West. A principled churchman, he has often paid the price for adhering to his conscience, stepping down as the Swiss bishops’ youth bishop in 2018 due to disagreements with other bishops at the 2018 Youth Synod and offering his resignation in 2021 at the age of 65, a full ten years before the mandatory retirement age for bishops. In this interview, he sits down with AdVaticanum to reflect on his years of priestly ministry and to offer his erudite analysis of the challenges facing the Church in the twenty-first century. He addresses Islam, the Society of St Pius X, the liturgy and the fallout of the Second Vatican Council with the characteristic clarity that has made him a much respected voice within the Church. AV: Your Excellency, you were born in 1955 and have recounted serving as an enthusiastic altar boy in the traditional rite in your childhood before being retrained for the Novus Ordo. You have described the post-conciliar liturgical intervention as “a rather violent, provisional reconstruction of the Holy Mass… associated with great losses that need to be addressed”, noting differences especially in the prayers, postures, and ad orientem orientation. Young Catholics today, who often know little about the texts of Vatican II, are increasingly drawn to the Tridentine rite for its beauty and transcendence. In your view, what specific elements of the ancient liturgy address the spiritual hunger of this generation, and how would you respond to claims that restricting the Traditional Latin Mass is necessary for ecclesial unity? +ME: I believe that the appeal of the Old Liturgy for young people lies primarily in several key aspects. Firstly, its focus, and the centrality, on God or Christ, rather than on the community. The general orientation of everyone (the congregation and the priest) is towards Him. Another is the palpable reverence associated with the encounter with the transcendent God or the present Christ. There is also the stillness and silence, reminiscent of the worship of the Lamb in the Book of Revelation. I believe people are also drawn to the solemnity and dignity of the vestments, liturgical objects, and the altar, as well as the overall design of the sanctuary. Finally, Gregorian chant, which has been a trend for some time, even in secular circles. Reverence, faith, prayer, love, and inner devotion or participation have their roots in the heart. They can be found just as easily in the Novus Ordo. I am the same person in any rite. How I stand before God and celebrate Him is decided within me. It is not the form that makes me devout. Devotion is either present or it is not, regardless of the form. The inner self then also takes on the proper mode of expression; it does not work the other way around. I kneel because I am devout; I am not devout because I kneel. If a form becomes associated with false thinking, it can become a divisive force and a question of “to be or not to be”, which a rite never is. Every form has advantages and disadvantages, and the wise person distinguishes without doing wrong. Why did Jesus call the outwardly righteous Pharisees whitewashed tombs? The discrepancy between what is inside and what is outside can be very great, whatever form it takes. AV: Building on your recent calls (including in early 2026 reflections) for renewed study of the liturgical crisis under a new pontificate, such as the marginalisation of the tabernacle and overemphasis on the “meal character”, do you see a path for restoring wider access to the Tridentine rite beyond the restrictions of Traditionis Custodes? What concrete pastoral measures would you recommend to bishops to allow the old liturgy to flourish again as a living treasure? +ME: We have so many rites in the Catholic Church. We should accept them for what they are: mere rites. We must infuse every rite with love and devotion; otherwise, it misses its mark. The Old and New Rites, as such, have nothing to do with whether we recognise the Council or not, or how we deal with its texts or reforms. These questions are not to be resolved at the level of the rites. Whether the New Mass corresponds to the vision of the Council Fathers who inspired it is a historical question. The answer may vary. Why don’t we simply give hearts the freedom to pray as they wish and to honour God as they like, without disqualifying any person or rite? The Church must set the framework for this. That is not a problem. Rites are not absolute. In a validly administered sacrament, the believer always finds God, regardless of the rite, provided, of course, that the sacraments are celebrated as the Church prescribes and with the inner attitude and dignity I have described above. AV: Your Excellency, you have described the post-Vatican II era as bringing “an indescribable decline in the practice and knowledge of the faith, widespread liturgical formlessness and arbitrariness” instead of the expected “springtime”. Official statistics from the Annuario Pontificio 2026 and Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2024 confirm a 13-year decline in priestly vocations that has accelerated recently, with major seminarians worldwide falling from 106,495 in 2023 to 103,604 in 2024 (a 2.72% drop), following prior yearly declines, with Europe seeing particularly sharp losses and a net global priest decrease of 734 between 2022 and 2023 despite Catholic population growth. What, in your view, are the specific post-conciliar developments or practices that have contributed to the excesses and loss of the sacred, and how should they now be corrected within the life of the Church? +ME: On the topic of the Old Rite, we must remember the causes of this phenomenon do not lie in the Novus Ordo. The Council Fathers had intended a modest liturgical reform. Excesses, lack of form, trivialisation of the sacred, liturgical disobedience, community-centredness, the absence of priests, or even a hostility towards priests, are phenomena of the post-conciliar era that cannot be attributed to the Council’s texts, any more than post-conciliar heretical tendencies can. The worst of all evils is the practical irrelevance of God in our society and the turning away from Christianity, which has been replaced by ideologies or other forces that have an extremely destructive effect on everything that was once sacred to the so-called Christian West. Nothing better has taken its place. This is becoming increasingly clear. AV: Specifically, focusing on vocations, this multi-year decline has hit Europe and the Americas hardest, with empty seminaries and ageing clergy in many places, while Africa and Asia show some growth. What would you propose to reverse it? +ME: There are many young converts and those seeking baptism. They want to build Christian marriages and families. This is where we need to invest our efforts. We must impart knowledge of the faith to children and young people, provide them with support, and introduce them to the sacraments; we must accompany young families. As a parish priest, I would begin by celebrating Holy Mass as deeply and beautifully as possible, accompanied by brief catechesis. Following the liturgy: fellowship, love, and joy; parents forming friendships, children getting to know one another and playing together. People and charisms gather around every devout priest. With Holy Mass at the centre of life, the Church begins to renew itself. If the priest is a bride in love, the community he gathers around him will soon be the same. This brings an unimaginable momentum. AV: In your October 2025 article “Homosexuality in Society and in the Church: An Elephant in the Room”, you identified the “widespread homosexuality in the clergy and its significance in the abuse crisis” as the ignored “elephant in the room”, calling it a phenomenon sui generis with negative consequences that must be named, while noting that silence renders other prevention efforts incomplete. What pastoral experience or observations led you to this conclusion, and do you think enough is being addressed openly despite earlier calls for psychological screening? +ME: This is not a matter of my own subjective impressions or pastoral experience, but of pure statistics. I wrote to Pope Leo XIV about this. All Church studies on abuse show a disproportionately high number of male victims. It does little good to turn a blind eye to this. There is a factual correlation, without implying that clergy with a homosexual orientation are predestined to commit abuse because of their orientation. The same applies to heterosexuals. There are also many cases of sexual abuse outside the Church, but society primarily focuses on and is scandalised by those within the clergy. To sin means: I could have acted differently, but everyone has their own preferences. AV: As auxiliary bishop emeritus of the Church in Switzerland, you have witnessed the challenges of secularisation in the country. What is your current assessment of the state of the faith in Switzerland, and are there any emerging Swiss “hotspots” of renewal among younger generations rediscovering the faith? +ME: Generally speaking, I give the Swiss very poor marks when it comes to their spiritual life and their connection to the Church. While most of them have been baptised, they have never truly become disciples of Jesus. I say this merely as an observation. It may not necessarily be their own fault. That said, there are genuine hotspots of faith. As the bishop for youth, I was right in the thick of it. Even today, I rejoice in the growth of these hotspots. AV: Your Excellency, you have been clear in your statements that the SSPX’s planned episcopal consecrations on 1 July 2026, without papal mandate, would constitute a “schismatic act” rupturing visible unity with the Pope, citing issues of autonomy, non-incardinated priests, and self-positioning as the true Church. What is the current attitude towards the SSPX within Switzerland? Do you perceive growing support for the SSPX among the faithful? +ME: The Society of St Pius X has gone to great lengths to justify its decision, both internally and externally. Many faithful simply love the traditional liturgy without truly identifying with the Society’s ideology. They are, in fact, often put off by what they sometimes encounter in parishes. I would not say that there is growing support for the Society of St Pius X among the faithful. AV: On the broader European scene, Cardinal Gerhard Müller has recently described mass migration from Islamic countries into Europe as posing significant challenges to integration, warning of risks such as cultural strain, potential social conflict, and growing Muslim influence in public life if not managed carefully. Your Grace, how do you assess the compatibility of large-scale Islamic immigration with preserving Europe’s Christian identity? What role should the Catholic Church play in addressing this, balancing the Gospel’s call to charity and welcome with a realistic consideration of the demographic, religious, and social shifts underway? +ME: Islam, not just so-called Islamism, is, by its very nature, an anti-Christian religion, in theory and in practice. Christianity has never fared well under Islamic rule. This remains true today. Wherever Islam holds sway, Christianity is being decimated to the point of near extinction. I consider Islam incompatible with the Western idea of freedom and the secular state. Ultimately, only the numerical balance will decide which of the two, Christianity or Islam, will disappear and perish or remain in a state of tolerance. Even secular political entities like the European Union exhibit anti-Christian traits today. Due to Islam’s incompatibility with the Christian idea of the separation of state and politics and church and religion (“Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s”), I consider Islam to be incompatible with the Judeo-Christian tradition of the West, which still strongly shapes our thinking and political system. The more Muslims are naturalised into our societies, the worse it could become unless Christ converts them and sets them free. AV: And finally, Your Excellency, could you offer your thoughts on the recent scandal in the Diocese of Chur, Switzerland, where three people shared the Eucharist with their pets? +ME: I cannot understand why the Holy Eucharist is celebrated in connection with the blessing of animals. Animals do not belong in a sacred space. They can be blessed outside the church, if one wishes. It is simply terrible that the sacraments, above all the Holy Mass, are no longer understood. The Holy Eucharist is viewed by many as a mere symbol and treated accordingly. But it is the Body of Christ, that is, the living, mysteriously present Person of the Lord. It causes me great pain to hear of such profanations. AV: Thank you, Your Excellency, for your continued dedication to the Church.