(LifeSiteNews) — The recent admission by the president of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Felix Gmür, in response to the alarming statistics on “debaptisms,” highlights the profound crisis gripping the Catholic Church in Switzerland. Over 67,500 faithful officially left the Church in 2023, nearly double the number from the previous year. A study published by the University of Zurich on sexual abuse within the Church acted as a detonator, revealing over 1,000 recorded cases in recent decades. Experts suggest, however, that these cases represent only the tip of the iceberg.
In an interview with Kath.ch, Bishop Gmür described this exodus of people as “predictable” and painted a seemingly hopeless picture, even calling it “a trend that cannot be stopped.”
The bishop’s words are emblematic not just of the situation in Switzerland but also of a broader attitude that seems to be pervasive among contemporary clergy and episcopacy: an attitude of defeatism. Declaring that “this is a trend that cannot be stopped” is akin to surrendering to the forces of secularism and internal errors. While the evident wounds—abuse scandals, the collapse of faith transmission within families—are rightly acknowledged, the true root cause remains unaddressed: the loss of Catholic identity among the clergy itself.
Authentic and deeply rooted Catholic faith cannot be destroyed even by the gravest scandals. History proves this: persecutions, heresies, schisms, and scandals have passed through the centuries without extinguishing the flame of faith, sustained as it is by its divine origin. The situation in Switzerland, by contrast, reveals a faith already weakened, rendered fragile by the lukewarmness of pastors and their openness to modernist ideologies. Bishop Gmür laments that faith is no longer central to people’s lives, but fails to ask whether the Swiss Church has truly done all it could to keep it alive.
Undoubtedly, Switzerland’s secularist culture plays a significant role in eroding Catholic identity. A secularized society that reduces religion to a private matter makes it increasingly difficult for faith to take root. However, secularism is a secondary cause, not the true root of the problem. Similarly, the scourge of abuse is grave but does not suffice to explain the collapse of faith. On the contrary, faith should be the driving force to confront scandals, cleanse the Church, and return to its evangelical mission. If this does not happen, it is because something deeper has been lost: Catholic identity.
The crisis arises from within, from the progressive adoption of a compromising attitude toward the world. Imagine if the Lord, upon entering the temple and seeing rampant corruption, had chosen not to act, saying, “The situation is too far gone to fix.” Instead, He armed Himself with zeal and cleansed the house of God, declaring: “Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” (Jn 2:16). This episode is a call for every Christian, especially pastors, not to surrender in the face of sin and corruption, but to fight for the holiness of the Church. Resignation is never an evangelical response: it is in times of crisis that faith must turn into action and restore what has been corrupted.
Rather than boldly proclaiming the truth of the Gospel, many bishops and priests have chosen to conform to the times, abandoning rigorous catechesis and foregoing the battle against modernism. The liturgy has often been reduced to a spectacle, doctrine presented as one opinion among many, and the sense of the sacred diluted into a vague sentimentality. With such foundations, it is no surprise that young families stop baptizing their children and parishes empty out.
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The public stance of Bishop Gmür and, presumably, other Swiss bishops, is especially dangerous. Declaring the Church’s disintegration inevitable is a betrayal of the mission entrusted by Christ to His apostles: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). The Church is not called to conform to the world but to evangelize it. Faith is not a fragile vessel that shatters at the first blow but a fortress built upon rock. If it collapses so easily, it was not authentic faith but mere pious illusion.
Sexual abuse, though horrific, is no valid reason to abandon faith. On the contrary, it should inspire renewed zeal: among the laity, to demand serious reforms and transparency; among the clergy, to return to evangelical radicality and uncompromising orthodoxy. Scandals test faith, but true faith emerges purified and strengthened. If today the Church in Switzerland yields, it is likely because it has ceased to believe in the true Christ and instead faces an imaginary Christ who does not exist.
Not all is lost. History shows that every crisis can be an opportunity for renewal if faced with courage and faith. Swiss bishops urgently need to abandon this fatalistic attitude and rediscover their mission as shepherds. It is imperative today to catechize without fear of the world’s reaction, to “give an account of the faith,” to defend the truth against relativism, and to put Christ back at the center of preaching. Only a Christocentric Church, not an anthropocentric one, that truly believes what it proclaims, can reclaim the faithful and confront the challenges of our time.
The crisis of the Catholic Church in Switzerland is not irreversible. Scandals, secularism, and societal shifts do not have the final word. The answer lies in rediscovering Catholic identity and returning to the roots of faith. Bishop Gmür and his confreres should reflect on Christ’s words: “Take courage; I have conquered the world” (Jn 16:33). Victory does not belong to defeatism but to hope founded on living faith.
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