Zurich justice director calls for a criminal investigation into the cases of abuse in the Catholic Church

Jacqueline Fehr: Public prosecutors should investigate abuses

The Zurich justice director Jacqueline Fehr (Socialist Party) has called for a criminal investigation into the cases of abuse in the Catholic Church. She has given the public prosecutor's office a corresponding order.

The Zurich public prosecutor's office should now work with colleagues from the other cantons to develop proposals as to what such an investigation could look like, said Fehr in the "Rendez-vous" program on Radio SRF1.

Fehr said that Chur Bishop Joseph Bonnemain, who is responsible for the church's investigation, had promised to contact the head of the Zurich public prosecutor's office.

Many cases have expired

It is questionable whether the cases will have any criminal consequences. Many are likely to be out of date. The goal must be that such cases no longer occur in the Catholic Church in the future, said the Zurich justice director. The question also arises as to whether and how it was covered up.

Catholic clerics and members of religious orders have committed at least 1,002 cases of sexual abuse in Switzerland over the past 70 years. This is shown by the first analysis of archives of Roman Catholic institutions by historians at the University of Zurich (UZH), which was published last week.

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