Swiss canton Valais launches probe into Church sexual abuse
The public prosecutor's office in canton Valais has launched preliminary proceedings in connection with possible sexual assaults in the Catholic Church, the office said on Friday.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA
It said the prosecutor’s office had instructed the cantonal police to investigate “possible criminal offences in Valais that are not time-barred or have not already been dealt with” following a recent report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Switzerland since the mid-20th century. For the accused persons, the presumption of innocence applies during the preliminary proceedings, the Valais prosecutor’s office noted.
The pilot study by the University of Zurich was commissioned by three Catholic bodies, including the Swiss Bishops’ Conference. Researchers counted 1,002 cases of sexual abuse since the mid-20th century. In their view, this is only the tip of the iceberg, as most cases were not reported and documents have been destroyed.
More
More
What next after Swiss Catholic Church sexual abuse revelations?
This content was published on
The Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland has become the latest in Europe to confront a major abuse scandal.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Deeply Read
More
Science
Switzerland says it can’t afford to take part in Copernicus programme
Zelensky wants to ‘make history’ at Swiss peace summit
This content was published on
While Swiss President Viola Amherd spoke of modest objectives at the two-day Summit on Peace in Ukraine, her Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky was more proactive, saying he wanted to make history.
US announces $1.5 billion aid for Ukraine at Swiss peace summit
This content was published on
US Vice President Kamala Harris has announced more than $1.5 billion in aid in part for Ukraine’s energy sector and its humanitarian situation.
Zurich Pride: Nemo plays first gig since Eurovision triumph
This content was published on
Swiss singer Nemo performed on Friday night at Zurich’s Pride Festival. It was the artist’s first concert since winning the Eurovision Song Contest last month.
Fireworks accident caused fatal explosion in Swiss car park
This content was published on
The explosion in an underground parking garage in Nussbaumen, northern Switzerland, on Thursday evening was caused by an accident involving fireworks.
This content was published on
All over Switzerland women took to the streets today: in several cities feminist associations called for demonstrations to assert their rights. Events scheduled for the strike were numerous.
Final guest list published for Swiss summit on peace in Ukraine
This content was published on
A total of 92 countries, including almost 60 heads of state and government, will be taking part in the Summit on Peace in Ukraine.
Zurich art museum to remove suspected Nazi-looted works
This content was published on
Spurred by a new set of best practices, works by Van Gogh, Monet and Gauguin, among others, will be removed from an exhibition.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Diocese of Lugano vows to improve abuse awareness
This content was published on
The diocese of Lugano says it will improve the way it deals with cases of sexual abuse after destroying numerous documents in the past.
Sweeping study finds 1,000 cases of sexual abuse in Swiss Catholic Church since 1950
This content was published on
More than 1,000 acts of sexual abuse have been perpetrated by Catholic clerics and members of the Order since 1950 in Switzerland.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.