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Diocese of Lugano vows to improve abuse awareness

Alain de Raemy, Bishop of Lugano.
The diocese of Lugano has apologised for destroying documents in the past. © Keystone - Ats / Ti-press

The diocese of Lugano announced to the media on Wednesday that it would better deal with cases of abuse. 

According to the report published on Tuesday by historians at the University of Zurich, numerous documents were destroyed in the diocese of Lugano.

+ Study uncovers 1,000 cases of sexual abuse by Catholic Church

It is impossible for the diocese of Lugano not to acknowledge guilt in this matter, the apostolic administrator of the diocese of Lugano, Alain de Raemy, told the media on Wednesday. He promised a “definitive change”. Justice is needed for the victims.

As a concrete improvement, de Raemy promised the creation of an independent reporting centre for sexual assaults.

On Tuesday, the University of Zurich published a study documenting 1,002 cases of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Switzerland since the middle of the 20th century. According to researchers, this is just the tip of the iceberg as most cases were unreported and documents were destroyed.

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