Woman wearing Santa Claus hat demands that a woman becomes a member of the Swiss Bishops' Conference

Catholic woman wearing a "mitre" demands: "A woman is needed in the Swiss Bishops' Conference"

In mid-January, Agatha Gachnang pointed out to the Bishop of Chur, Joseph Maria Bonnemain, that a woman urgently needs to be a member of the Swiss Bishops' Conference. She recently reiterated this demand in a letter to the editor. She explains her motivation to kath.ch.

"During Bishop Bonnemain's visit to Dürnten, I also advocated for the inclusion of a woman in the Swiss Bishops' Conference," writes Agatha Gachnang in a letter to the editor published on Zo-online on February 27. The letter is titled: "A woman is needed in the Swiss Bishops' Conference."

In it, Gachnang explains her initiative: "It wouldn't even be a precedent! After all, in its Nordic counterpart, the Nordic Bishops' Conference, a nun already holds a seat."

(Cathcon: She is General Secretary but not a member of the Conference as such, as far as I can see from the website)

Kaschner as an author in Swiss publications

This refers to Anna Mirijam Kaschner. The German has been General Secretary and spokesperson of the Nordic Bishops' Conference since 2009. Gachnang knows this because she reads the Christian publications "Sonntag" and "Doppelpunkt"—in which Kaschner regularly publishes articles. Kaschner has been a member of the religious order of the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood since 1997, according to Herder Publishers. She has been stationed in Denmark since 2005.

Gachnang presented the concerns of a woman within the Swiss Bishops' Conference to the Bishop of Chur on January 14 at an event in Tann ZH, which belongs to the municipality of Dürnten.

"I lerned of the bishop's visit and thought: This is the opportunity to raise my concerns," she explained to kath.ch. She had also informed a few women about it beforehand. She contacted Joseph Maria Bonnemain because he is responsible for the Canton of Zurich. "He is our bishop," she says.

Mitre – bought for "Santa Claus"

During her appearance in Tann, Gachnang wore a mitre. She bought it in the Netherlands for "Santa Claus," she told kath.ch. The St. Nicholas tradition is celebrated quite differently there than in Switzerland.

The Catholic woman is originally from the Netherlands but has lived in Switzerland for many years. She has sung in the Tann church choir for about 20 years. In the 1990s, she was also active in the Wald Catholic parish council for two years. She also participated in the survey for the synodal process. The retired physician ran a psychiatric and psycho-therapeutic practice in Wald and Zurich.

Role of women in the Church "not rosy"

Gachnang finds the role of women in the Church "not rosy." She is convinced that this must change. "Women are empowered through baptism to bear Christian responsibility," she argues. "And Pope Francis has already appointed women to high-ranking, responsible positions in the Vatican, finally."

So far, neither the current Pope Leo XIV nor other high-ranking Vatican officials have commented on the situation in the bishops' conferences, criticizes Agatha Gachnang – and asks: "Why can't women also be represented in bishops' conferences?"

Event hijacked by young men

Gachnang reiterates her concern in a letter to the editor dated February 27. She had the impression that it was overlooked at the event, she says. "The event was hijacked by young men from out of town." As kath.ch reported, several young men asked the bishop critical questions about the liturgy and the "abuse of the liturgy" that evening.

Gachnang also sent the aforementioned letter to the editor to Bonnemain. He thanked her and praised her courage, Gachnang recounts. However, she received no assurance that he would raise the issue with the Swiss Bishops' Conference. "The bishops have to implement that themselves," Gachnang believes. She says of the Catholic Church: "The wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly."

Gachnang has been writing to the bishop regularly for some time, says Nicole Büchel, communications officer for the Diocese of Chur, when asked. Despite searching, they have not found a letter from the bishop praising her courage or responding to the mitre action. However, there is a letter from the bishop dated February 3. The bishop expressed his gratitude for Gachnang's "great commitment," according to Büchel.

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