Diocese of Basel mounts furious attack on local media in response to allegations
The Diocese of Basel accuses the NZZ and Sonntagsblick of "unfair journalism"
The German-speaking newspapers NZZ am Sonntag and Sonntagsblick published several articles in early June 2025 criticizing Bishop Felix Gmür of Basel in connection with the fight against sexual abuse. The Diocese of Basel issued a scathing response, denying the media allegations.
"The rebel bishop: Basel struggles to come to terms with its past regarding sexual abuse" (Der widerspenstige Bischof: Basel tut sich schwer mit der Missbrauchsvergangenheit).
This is the title of an article in the Zurich weekly NZZ am Sonntag (NZZaS), published on June 7, 2025. The article refers to another article in Sonntagsblick (Sobli) published on June 1. The latter claims to have learned "from several sources" that female historians at the University of Zurich were "irritated" by Bishop Gmür's behavior, which allegedly hinders access to sexual abuse files. The experts in question were commissioned by the Catholic Church in Switzerland to shed light on cases of abuse in the church since the 1950s. A pilot project published in September 2023 shocked public opinion by revealing the existence of more than 1,000 cases.
Over the weekend of June 7 and 8, NZZaS and Sobli published further articles elaborating on the alleged problems affecting the University of Zurich's investigations. Under the headline "Access to files denied: Senior Catholic Church official criticizes Swiss bishops" (Akteneinsicht verweigert: Oberster Katholik kritisiert Schweizer Bischöfe), the Sobli features quotes from Roland Loos, president of the Roman Catholic Central Conference of Switzerland (RKZ), on the importance of the University of Zurich investigation, particularly in bringing justice to the victims.
Allegations only
Following the articles, the Diocese of Basel issued a protest statement on June 9, denying the allegations made by the two media outlets, entitled "The NZZaS and the Sobli practice unfair journalism."
"The content of the three articles does not correspond to the truth," the diocese asserts. According to the press release, the sources cited by the Sobli on June 1, who claimed that "there are problems accessing files" [in the Diocese of Basel] "are not based on facts, but are only making allegations."
"The Bishop of Basel is making all archival files available to the University of Zurich research team," the press release states. "As the diocese must first ensure that all provisions of Swiss law are respected, the bishop has been in contact with the university's historians for a long time and had already arranged a meeting with them before the articles were published."
The Sobli of June 1 also states that "a tense atmosphere reigns within the Bishops' Conference." This claim is "purely fabricated," according to the Diocese of Basel.
No quarrel between Bishop Gmür and Bishop Bonnemain
The Diocese denies a number of assertions made by the NZZaS, notably that Bishop Bonnemain, Bishop of Chur, is angry with Bishop Gmür. "This assertion is untrue and is denied by Bishop Bonnemain," the statement states. Bishop Bonnemain is head of the CES's expert commission "Sexual Abuse in the Ecclesial Context." In this capacity, he played a key role in launching the independent historical study conducted by the University of Zurich.
The NZZaS also claims that the Bishop of Chur asked the Bishop of Basel to grant the University of Zurich full access to the files. This is another false assertion, denied by Bishop Bonnemain himself, according to the Diocese of Basel.
Independence issues? The Diocese of Basel also denounces as false the allegations that Bishop Gmür closed preliminary canon law proceedings in the Nussbaumer case.
The NZZaS further insinuates, through a commissioned expert, that the independent reporting office of the Diocese of Basel is not truly independent. "In reality, the reporting office is completely independent of the diocese," the expert asserts. The expert cited by the newspaper is allegedly involved in a conflict of interest with one of his employers, the Swiss Bishops' Conference (SBC). He therefore wishes to remain anonymous.
According to the NZZaS, the Bishop of Basel also advised the Vatican to forgo canonical proceedings. "Apart from the fact that the Bishop's recommendation to the Vatican proves that the preliminary canonical proceedings have been concluded, which the author of the article disputes a few lines above, a recommendation to the Vatican is part of standard procedure. When the Bishop wanted to pave the way for canonical criminal proceedings for the victim, his legal representative, who is also the aforementioned expert, opposed it."
Ethics criticized
"By its presentation of the facts, the NZZaS subtly suggests that the dismissal of the editor-in-chief of the Berner Pfarrblatt [Annalena Müller, editor's note] is linked to the Diocese of Basel," the press release notes. "In reality, the diocese and the Bishop have absolutely nothing to do with this matter."
Finally, the Diocese of Basel vehemently questions the ethics of both media outlets: "The NZZaS and Sobli do not stick to the facts, do not support their claims with evidence, present lies as truth, refer solely to hearsay and the alleged protection of sources, massively exceed the bounds of decency, which amounts to defamation, and despicably denigrate the Diocese of Basel, its bishop and, consequently, the Catholic Church as a whole. The Diocese of Basel firmly distances itself from the articles in the NZZaS and Sobli."
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