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CRIME

Swiss bishops plan new tribunal after sexual abuse revelations

Following shocking sexual abuse revelations within Switzerland's Catholic Church, the Catholic dioceses' coordinating body said Saturday it planned to create a tribunal to discipline clergy members who break ecclesiastic law.

Swiss bishops plan new tribunal after sexual abuse revelations
(Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)

The Bishops’ Conference of Switzerland said it was “devastated” after a study identified almost a thousand victims and widespread efforts to cover up abuse.

In a statement, it said it had determined concrete measures to strengthen safeguards and help ensure victims are heard and they and their families receive justice and are supported.

Among the key measures, the conference said it wanted to “create an ecclesiastic criminal and disciplinary tribunal for the Church of Switzerland”.

“Swiss criminal laws will of course continue to prevail and criminal prosecutorial authorities will always be solicited for any cases of abuse or other infractions committed in the ecclesiastic setting,” it stressed.

The new tribunal, it said, would instead handle sanctions needed against members of the clergy who violate ecclesiastic law.

The conference said it was in the process of setting up a meeting with Vatican authorities about how to bring the tribunal into being.

The statement comes after results were released earlier this month from a year-long inquiry by researchers at the University of Zurich, identifying 921 victims of sexual abuse within the Church since 1950.

The study also determined that most cases either went unreported or documents containing information were destroyed.

The study, which will be completed by a further three-year research campaign, comes after similar efforts to uncover clerical abuse in other parts of the world.

According to the initial findings, 74 percent of victims were children, while a total of 510 people, almost all men, were found to have committed the abuse.

The Conference of Bishops also announced a separate investigation earlier this month following accusations that four current and two former bishops had covered up cases of sexual abuse by clergy.

Saturday’s statement said that in addition to the planned tribunal, the conference was working towards creating a national centre tasked with receiving and gathering victim accounts.

It also guaranteed that researchers would have access to all the necessary archives, and that no further documents would be destroyed.

And it said it was standardising a requirement for an in-depth psychological evaluation for all seminary, clergy and layman positions.

“In the face of the abuse and the suffering that has taken place, the Swiss Bishops will never be able to do enough,” Saturday’s statement acknowledged.

“Continually adapting procedures to render justice to victims and to ensure abuse does not happen again is therefore a top priority.”

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LAUSANNE

American tourist ‘violently attacked’ in Lausanne

A woman visiting from the United States was stabbed during a robbery attempt while sightseeing in the Swiss city of Lausanne.

American tourist 'violently attacked' in Lausanne

The attack occurred at the end of May, but the Swiss media reported it on Tuesday.

The victim, in her 50s, was “violently” attacked by a man with a knife while sightseeing in the Old Town, according to Lausanne’s newspaper 24 Heures. The attempted robbery was confirmed by local police.

The tourist was stabbed in the shoulder as the assailant tried to flee with her bag.

A local shopkeeper said she was “alerted by cries of distress in English” and witnessed the victim “lying on the ground and trying to defend herself against a man who was attacking her. The scene was extremely violent.”

Even though passersby attempted to intercept the attacker, he managed to escape.

He was, however, caught and arrested shortly thereafter. Police said the perpatrator was known for prior criminal acts.

This was the second case of a brutal attack in Switzerland  against a US tourist in a span of several months.

In February, an American woman was raped and beaten in Geneva. 

The suspect in that case lived in France and, according to the Geneva prosecutor’s office, was arrested “outside Switzerland.” 

Does this mean the two cities are unsafe for tourists?

Lausanne police said that no incidents “targeting tourists in particular” have been reported in the Vaud capital.

But reading about these attacks probably doesn’t fill you with confidence regarding your personal security in Switzerland.

Still, you should put these unfortunate incidents in perspective.

That’s because Switzerland consistently ranks among the least risky nations in the world, both in terms of personal safety and overall crime rate.

Not only is crime limited in scope, but other statistics also indicate that, in comparison with other countries, Switzerland is very safe.

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