The abbey announced on Tuesday that
the Vatican had also discontinued the canonical proceedings after the
Swiss public prosecutor's office dropped the case. Scarcella resumed his
official duties on Sunday.
Last week, the responsible bishop's dicastery announced that the Roman authorities had no reservations about Scarcella resuming his duties as abbot.
Cardinal Robert Prevost, Prefect of the Bishop's Dicastery, had already announced the decision in mid-February during a meeting with Scarcella and the Apostolic Administrator of the abbey, Jean-Michel Girard, which also marked the end of the Apostolic Administrator's mandate.
The independent working group established by the abbey at the beginning of 2024which investigated allegations against several religious will continue its work. Scarcella welcomed the Vatican's decision: "I confidently accept the Holy See's trust in granting me the resumption of my office as abbot and thank my community for its unwavering support."
The General Assembly of the Swiss Bishops' Conference, which is still meeting until Wednesday, took note of the took note of the decision in a brief statement without
expressly welcoming it: "The Dicastery for Bishops has given no other
reason for its approval than compliance with the legal framework. Like
the Swiss judiciary, the Church's judiciary also respects the legal
principles of a constitutional state."
The bishops point out that the public prosecutor's office has discontinued the proceedings as the allegations are time-barred and cannot be clarified. They have no further information.
Allegations against several members of the abbey
Scarcella had suspended his suspended his office in September 2023after he was accused of sexually harassing a young person.
The abbot announced at the time that he wanted to ensure the independence of the investigation into the case by temporarily stepping down.
The prior, who
was initially appointed as a deputy had to resign as interim head two months later after allegations against him also came to light. An investigation by the Swiss television channel RTS
had previously brought to light allegations against eight other living
and deceased members of the Augustinian canons' monastery.
Pope Francis entrusted the former superior of the Augustinian Congregation of the Great St Bernard, Jean Michel Girard, with the task of abbey as Apostolic Administrator until further notice.
Last October, the public prosecutor's office closed its investigation. The reasons for the closure were not initially known.
Saint-Maurice Abbey is a monastery of the Augustinian canons in the Swiss canton of Valais. It is considered to be the oldest uninterrupted monastery in the West. As a territorial abbey, the monastery and an area of almost 100 square kilometres belonging to it are equivalent to a diocese.
The heads of territorial abbeys belong to the respective bishops' conference by virtue of their office, although they are not usually ordained bishops.
In addition to the Abbot of Saint-Maurice, the Abbot of Einsiedeln Territorial Abbey is also represented in the Swiss Bishops' Conference.