Top Swiss Bishop Wants Digital Register Of Clergy

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) The President of the Swiss Conference of Bishops, Charles Morerod, wants to introduce a national digital register of clergy in the interest of transparency. This content was published on July 17, 2025 - 09:16 3 minutes Keystone-SDA

• Deutsch de Präsident der Bischofskonferenz will Register für Kleriker Original Read more: Präsident der Bischofskonferenz will Register für Klerike

Such a system would allow“every parish to check via smartphone whether there are any allegations or restrictions” concerning a particular clergy member, Morerod said in an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, published on Thursday.

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Such a system is currently being introduced in his diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, Morerod said.

France is the role model in the area; there, a digital system already exists, the bishop added. As for how it would work, priests would receive an ID card with a QR code; when hiring a priest, parishes could then check whether the person has a criminal history.

According to Morerod, not everyone at the Conference of Bishops is convinced. This is because the French system is less well known in German-speaking Switzerland, he said.“But the process has been initiated.”

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