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Sexual abuse cases identified at Great St Bernard congregation

Grand St Bernard Congregation identifies 5 cases of sexual abuse
Great St Bernard Congregation identifies five cases of sexual abuse. Keystone-SDA

Five cases of sexual abuse have been identified within the Great St Bernard congregation between 1955 and 1983.

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This conclusion is based on an examination of its secret archives.

Two cases of sexual abuse of minors by two canons of the Great St Bernard were already known. One took place in the 1980s at Collège Champittet in Lausanne with a 12-year-old child, the other in Valais with a young girl. The congregation denounced the two men in 2022.

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The secret archives reveal three other cases, the congregation said in a press release. One cleric, who could not be identified, abused a ten-year-old child in 1955-1956. The case was announced in 2023. Another canon abused a young man in 1983 in Valais. The offender reported himself to the police the same year.

Finally, a canon, parish priest in central Valais, was convicted in 1971 by the criminal justice system of indecent assault on at least ten children.

Translated from French by DeepL/ts

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