As income rates drop and commitments and initiatives increase, the Swiss Church is launching a new appeal for solidarity and is asking the faithful for help.
Meanwhile, however, it has also decided to cut costs within its own central organisation.
The move was decided during the assembly of Swiss bishops held recently in San Gallo, which the Holy See’s newspaper “L’Osservatore Romano” gave particular focus to.
The Swiss Episcopal Conference has decided to reshuffle its General Secretariat, grouping all various commissions together within it.
The aim of this is to reduce the entity’s costs, make it more functional and thus optimise bishops’ work.
The President of the Swiss Episcopal Conference, Noerbert Brunner, will be working in a committee in charge of making the project operational in as short a time frame as possible.
In Switzerland, the Catholic Church’s structures are financed by bishops, by the central Conference and by Fastenopfer the Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund, an international cooperation organisation.
“Despite the great efforts made by these institutions – bishops explained in their final communiqué – it is still difficult to finance the Conference to the extent required, whilst at local or cantonal level, centres have more capital at their disposal and the money coming in is more than the money going out.”
The Episcopate is thus making another appeal, asking for parishes and ecclesiastical organisations in the various Swiss cantons, to set aside at least 2% of their surplus income, to fund pastoral work.
The appeal states that “over the coming years, the Catholic Church will be able to depend on significantly reduced funds to carry out its duties,” even though its “budget cuts will have to be managed in a socially tolerable way.”
The Episcopate explained that sacrifices and cuts within the various Church bodies, are necessary in order to guarantee parishes and ecclesiastical centres (which in Switzerland are public law corporations) “the basic and continuous training of pastoral collaborators and members of the Church committed to serving it as well as ensure credible media activity, coordination and planning,” the Catholic Church’s active participation in ethical and social debates which bishops believe to be of “crucial importance for the future of our society.”