"The office holders have failed". Swiss Bishops mired in scandal. But who did leak the letter then?
Nicholas Betticher: "The office holders have failed".
In a letter to the Pope, Nicholas Betticher has made serious accusations against Swiss bishops and priests. He is "concerned with the victims, not the ministers". He demands that canon law finally be applied and that the "deliberate cover-up" stop. Canon law allows the statute of limitations to be lifted.
Father Betticher, did you pass the letter on to SonntagsBlick?
Nicolas Betticher*: No, I have always adhered to professional secrecy. The letter is an internal communication to the Vatican about abuses in the Swiss Church that need to be investigated. I note that my internal letter has found its way to the media. However, since it has been made public, I am of course commenting on it.
"All of us, including me, have made mistakes."
Why did you write the letter?
Betticher: I wanted us as a church to not only come to terms with it historically - after all, the preliminary study comes out on Tuesday and it is very, very important. But it is also important that we come to terms with church law. The historical study cannot do that, or rather, it is not its task. It is our task as a church to take responsibility, to draw consequences and to remove perpetrators of abuse from the service of the church. My concern is that we also do this.
You were Vicar General of the Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg until 2011. Why didn't you approach the Vatican with your knowledge much earlier?
Betticher: All of us, including me, have made mistakes. Today we have to admit that we did not work properly for a long time. I watched for a long time and saw that nothing was happening. That is why I informed the Holy See, as the Pope explicitly demands of priests in "Vos Estis".
What does your letter to the Vatican say?
Betticher: I have informed the Vatican of all the cases of abuse of which I am aware. My letter lists all the cases with questions. These are to help the investigating judge to find out the truth.
"In extraordinary proceedings, often only the accused is heard."
In what way?
Betticher: For example: I know about case XY. Was a preliminary investigation done here? Were proceedings initiated? What were the results? Was there a verdict? That should help the investigating judge to find the truth. And then, hopefully, there will be due process.
What would such due process look like?
Betticher: According to canon law, it would mean that everyone is heard - and not just the alleged perpetrator. In extraordinary proceedings, often only the accused is heard. In the past, this has led to many cases being dropped. Only due process can bring the truth to light - and either convict or exonerate an accused.
"To this day, those affected experience time and again that their reports remain without consequences for the perpetrators."
What motivates you personally?
Betticher: I think about the victims. Because it is about them and not about the office holders. The office bearers have failed. I also failed as vicar general and officiant. I take that on myself. But today, 15 years later, I can no longer accept that they continue in this way. I have many conversations with those affected. Even today, those affected experience time and again that their reports remain without consequences for the perpetrators. That is terrible.
Did you also inform the researchers at the University of Zurich about the accusations?
Betticher: Yes, I gave them all the information. They are processing it historically and Joseph Bonnemain, who was appointed by the Vatican as a special investigator, is processing it legally. That is important. Parallel to the historical investigation, we also need a legal one. We as a Church have been too slow for a long time. We need to act now.
Why does the Church remain inactive?
Betticher: I can't understand it either. Even today, when there are commissions in every diocese, often little is done. They limit themselves to forwarding reported cases to the public prosecutor's office. And if they then say that the case is time-barred, it is still archived in the dioceses. Yet canon law allows the statute of limitations to be lifted. Why don't they do that? Because then one might come across truths that one does not want to know. And that is a kind of deliberate cover-up. And I can no longer accept that.
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