Modernist and conservative fight in the Garden of Eden. First fruits of a synodal church.
Criticism unwanted: Chur Diocesan spokeswoman threatens journalist
A journalist working for the regional church is threatened by the Chur diocesan spokeswoman at the Züri Fäscht. The spokesperson denies having "threatened or coerced the woman in any way". But the incident is not an isolated case. It sheds light on a system that is incapable of criticism and does not shy away from intimidation.
But appearances are deceptive. In the midst of the relaxed atmosphere, the Chur diocese spokesperson allegedly threatened a journalist. Research by kath.ch shows: The incident in the "Garden of Eden" is not an isolated case - but it is better documented than the others.
Incident in the "Garden of Eden"
The protagonists are the Diocesan spokeswoman Nicole Büchel and the journalist Anna M (Cathcon: the journalist is hiding behind anonymity- but everyone locally will know who she is. Shall we call her Anna Modernist?) . The journalist had taken up her post in the communications department of the national church a few weeks earlier. Anna M. contacted Büchel as early as June and offered to come to Chur. This emerges from chat histories available to kath.ch. The opportunity did not arise. So the opening of the Züri Fäscht is the first opportunity to get to know each other personally.
But the encounter turns out differently than Anna M. expects. "After I had introduced myself, Büchel took me aside and started talking down to me," Anna M. reports. "She told me that I had ruined my image by being critical of compulsory celibacy and by reporting positively on Zurich Pride, thus making me unacceptable."
Amidst the people in the "Garden of Eden": Bishop Bonnemain.
That same evening, Anna M. recorded the events in log. There she writes down what the diocesan spokesperson told her:
"She will see to it that I don't find any more employment."
"She told me to look for a job outside of Switzerland. She is very well connected in the Swiss church and also in the Swiss media world. Her contacts reached into the highest committees and up to the top of SRF. She made it very clear to me that she would personally see to it that I would no longer find employment in either field."
Büchel, a victim of the Zurich regional church?
Anna M. is disturbed by the incident. She turns to her superior, Simon Spengler and the President of the synodal council, Raphael Meyer. Meyer confronts Bishop Bonnemain with the incident. Bonnemain then asked his spokesperson to write a statement.
The statement is available to kath.ch. In it, Nicole Büchel "vehemently denies having threatened or coerced Anna M. in any way". In the two-page statement, the diocese spokeswoman describes herself as a victim of a "proxy war" between the diocese of Chur and the regional church of Zurich. She suspects that the incident was blown up "in order to put pressure on the Bishop of Chur on the part of the 'Zurichers'".
Nicole Büchel, spokeswoman for the Diocese of Chur, suspects a conspiracy by the progressive "Zurichers".
However, there are indications that Anna M.'s account of events is true. Synod councillor Petra Zermin (60) confirms that she observed the conversation between the two women at the Züri Fäscht. She had the impression "that Büchel was talking at Anna M." and that M. "obviously felt very uncomfortable". Zermin says she finally joined the two women and thus "resolved the obviously difficult situation".
Not an isolated case
As research by kath.ch shows, the diocese spokeswoman has threatened at least three people in the church environment with the loss of their employment in the last 18 months. In none of the cases known to the editors did Büchel have the authority to actually dissolve the employment relationship. Nevertheless, the threat to end careers with the help of one's own networks is to be seen as an attempt at intimidation. Confronted with these accusations, the spokesperson writes: "I do not comment on sweeping accusations."
Instead, others share their experiences. Among them is a journalist who does not work for the Church but for a large Swiss media company. The disconcerting behaviour of the diocesan spokeswoman towards the journalist is evident in the email exchange that kath.ch has. The occasion was a report on homosexuality and the Church with a request for a statement from Bishop Bonnemain. At that time, the journalist had already worked with the Bishop of Chur several times and describes the direct contact with him as "extremely uncomplicated". This had changed when the new spokesperson took up her post.
Influence on reporting
According to the exchange of e-mails, Büchel initially tried to dissuade the journalist from writing about homosexuality. Büchel saw "no reason to rehash the topic". In the same email, she accuses the journalist of "disregarding the journalist's code" and of using "unfair means". The diocese spokeswoman does not give reasons for the accusations.
In an interview with kath.ch, the journalist concerned expressed her irritation "at the aggressive approach" even more than a year after the exchange. She has more than 15 years of professional experience and has never been accused of "unfair means", especially since it was an 0815 media request. She finally published the report without the bishop's statement. Since then, she has also refrained from asking the Diocese of Chur for one. But that could not be in the interest of the bishop and the church, she says.
Inability to receive criticism and bogus arguments
The various cases have some things in common. In each case, those attacked are people who communicate with a wider public about critical, church-related issues. And who thus provoke defensive reactions. However, these defensive reactions are not arguments about content, but are aimed at defaming the person and their professionalism. kath.ch asked Karin Iten (52) about this, as she regularly targets critical topics in her function as prevention officer.
Karin Iten is familiar with questions of the critical capacity of the church system. "There is a lot of encouragement, but also subtle to indecent resistance." Iten has mostly experienced the bishop as "delightfully capable of criticism". "He also confronts uncomfortable issues," she says. In the "second and third row" behind the bishop, however, things look different. Some there are bothered by critical voices and stifle criticism of the system. And this despite the fact that the abuse crisis would clearly show systemic problems. The only way to communicate about abuse is radical honesty, says Iten - and that includes the ability to criticise.
It is particularly unfair when criticism is defended with "ad hominem" arguments. In other words, with pseudo-arguments that question the integrity of the criticising person instead of addressing the actual facts. The treatment of women like Anna M. and others who criticise "hot potatoes like celibacy, discrimination against homosexuality or women" - is not surprising to Iten. According to Iten, the idea of the sanctity of the church and an accompanying defensive attitude is still deeply anchored among some. "Everyone must finally be honest and let go of the transfigured mirage of the infallible Church. Otherwise they will become or remain part of the problem and not the solution."
Cathcon: A synodal church with be a fractious church which will never be able to maintain unity. Thanks for that Pope Francis.
The anonymity makes it look like a complete set-up even if it is not.
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