Catholic Church Bishop Bonnemain of Chur fights for church members on the phone
The Bishop of Chur, Joseph Maria Bonnemain, personally campaigned on Tuesday against the increasing number of people leaving the church. As part of a telephone campaign, he picked up the phone and responded to callers' questions, concerns and worries.
10.12.2024, 14:29
SDA
The telephone day was launched at a time when a particularly large number of people were considering leaving the church, writes the Catholic Church of the Canton of Zurich in a press release.
The church is fighting for every member - personally. Bishop Joseph Maria Bonnemain, together with Synodal Council President Raphael Meyer and Vice President Vera Newec, Vicar General Luis Varandas and the Head of Hospital Pastoral Care, Sabine Zgraggen, took calls from Catholics between 12 noon and 7 pm. The line ran hot.
"Criticism moves us forward"
Bishop Bonnemain told the Keystone-SDA news agency that the Church wanted to use the campaign to ensure that all concerns, worries and uncertainties could be voiced openly. He was aware that he would also receive rejection or criticism on the phone. "If it is justified, criticism helps us move forward," said the 76-year-old.
The telephone campaign is linked to a survey on the reputation of the Catholic Church, which the opinion research institute Sotomo is conducting on behalf of the Church. The results will be published at the beginning of 2025. Initial results show that 18% of Catholics have already considered leaving the church.
The credibility of the Catholic Church is suffering under the burden of cover-ups and crimes of past years and a reform backlog with regard to equality for women, it is said. Last year, it recorded a record number of resignations following the publication of a study on abuse. Bishop Bonnemain assumes that this figure will no longer be so high in 2024. He hopes that it will be recognized that the church is credibly trying to come to terms with the abuse.
