After abuse scandal: Berner wants to stop funds for Catholics

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1002 times of sexual abuse. High number of unreported cases. Destroyed files. Perpetrators who are protected. A new study shows the shocking extent of abuse in the Catholic Church in Switzerland. The confidence of politicians that the church will now mercilessly clean up is manageable.

That is why Tobias Vogeli (28), chairman of the Junge GLP and canton councilor in Bern, does not want to wait, but wants to give the church its wallet. “The horrific atrocities and systematic cover-ups must be consistently addressed and prevented in the future.”

You should know: the canton of Bern pays approximately 12 million francs annually to the Catholic Church. “Where taxpayer money flows, the state must control what happens to it,” Vogeli said, and will demand that payments be suspended. Only if the church presents a concept on how the attacks can be tackled “comprehensively and transparently” and prevented in the future, will the money start flowing again. The studies so far do not convince him. “If a colleague investigates another colleague, it is not independent.” That is why he also demands that the cantonal parliament must decide whether the concept is sufficient.

Should pastors worry about wages?

Vogeli’s proposal would also affect the wages of hundreds of priests and employees of the Catholic Church who have not committed any violations. Vogeli believes that this is not collective punishment: “I don’t put anyone under general suspicion. It is about the systematic cover-up in the background.” He doesn’t believe church employees should worry about their wages. “The church can continue to pay the wages of the employees. After all, she continues to receive church tax.”

Voegeli wants to focus mainly on performance agreements. The churches receive money when they offer services to children and young people, seniors or people living in poverty. “As long as there is no concept that prevents abuse, no new agreements should be concluded,” he demands. He is not afraid that the church’s valuable offering, for example when it comes to the reception of refugees, will be lost. “NGOs, the Christian Catholic or the Reformed Church could take over this.”

“Perverting the Good About the Church”

The shock is also great in national politics. Especially in the Center Party, which until recently had Christian in its name as CVP. The number of cases “has an impact”, Fabio Regazzi (61), national councilor of the Center, told Blick TV. “The cases of abuse distort the good of the church,” adds party member Marianne Binder-Keller (65).

But politicians are powerless. For Regazzi, the scandal is an internal matter of the church. “It is not the job of politicians to take measures,” says Binder-Keller. It calls for criminal prosecution, but in most cases this is contradicted by statutes of limitations.

Source:Blick