Swiss canton moots mandatory reporting of crimes by priests

The Swiss canton of Ticino is considering a legal obligation to report criminal offences in the Church environment.

In the autumn, an initiative to amend the law to this effect will come before the Ticino cantonal parliament.

Specifically, any criminal offence or suspicion of a criminal offence involving a cleric should be reported “immediately” to the civil judicial authority, according to the draft law.

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The background to the initiative is criminal offences in the church environment that become known but are not reported or are not reported immediately.

In a trial heard last week at the Ticino Cantonal Criminal Court in Lugano, several years reportedly passed before a member of the Lugano diocese reported the priest’s alleged offence to the judicial authorities.

The proposal to amend the law on the Catholic Church will soon be discussed in the Commission for Constitution and Law.

The proposed amendment to the law is to be discussed as early as September.