"The number of people leaving the church is very high. Unfortunately, this was to be expected after the publication of the pilot study on sexual abuse in the church environment," he told the portal kath.ch.
According to a recent evaluation, around 67,500 people in Switzerland left the Catholic Church in 2023, almost twice as many as in the previous year.
The main reason for this is the publication of a study by the University of Zurich in September 2023, which caused horror in the Alpine republic.
According to the study, more than 1,000 sexual assaults have been recorded in the ranks of the church in recent decades. However, this is only "the tip of the iceberg".
The Bishop of Basel sees other reasons for the trend in the number of resignations.
"The Catholic Church milieu is changing rapidly or is disintegrating. Attachment to the church is declining, faith no longer plays a role in the everyday lives of many people, and therefore the faith is no longer being passed on," says Gmür.
There are many endeavours to regain people's trust. Nevertheless, the Bishops' Conference chairman's conclusion is sobering: "The Church continues to shrink; unfortunately, this is a trend that cannot be stopped."