A group of priests in the Swiss diocese of Chur has refused to sign the new binding code of conduct which they see as an attempt to “implant LGTB ideology”.
The new 32-page code of conduct entitled “Code of conduct on how to handle power – the prevention of spiritual abuse and sexual exploitation” was signed by Bishop Joseph Bonnemain of Chur on 5 April and is binding for all priests and Church employees in the diocese from July 2022.
Each priest or employee will be presented with a copy and will have to commit themselves to the code with their signature. The copy with their signature will then be kept in their personnel file.
A group of 43 priests from the “Chur priests’ circle” (“Churer Priesterkreis”) have refused to sign the new code of conduct. They are collecting signatures against the new code and say they have already got the support of 80 further priests in the diocese which has 347 priests in all.
In their declaration, the group explain that the new code of conduct puts a curb on proclaiming parts of the doctrine of the faith and therefore violates canon law. They had warned Bonnemain of this problem before he signed the new code, the group said.
While they fully support 95 per cent of what the new code demands, they cannot sign the parts which concern the Church’s sexual morality, the group underline.
They are particularly concerned with the paragraph on homosexuality which requires every priest to agree to “refrain from sweeping negative assessments of allegedly unbiblical behaviour based on sexual orientation”. Anyone who signed that would no longer be allowed to proclaim the Church’s teaching on homosexuality which says that homosexual acts could “under no circumstances” be approved, as stated in the Catechism, the group point out.
The code also explicitly requires priests, deacons and lay employees not to “actively take up topics related to sexuality” and to refrain from “offensive questioning about intimate life and relationship status”. This would prohibit priests and deacons from asking the obligatory questions in marriage preparation, the group says. It would mean that the priest could no longer ask the future spouses whether they agreed that a sacramental marriage was a bond for life between a man and a woman who wanted children.
Under these circumstances, they could not obey their bishop as by doing so they would be “disloyal to the Church and its teaching”, the group underline and accuse Bishop Bonnemain of undermining the doctrine of the faith and of “implanting LGBT ideology under the guise of prevention of abuse”.
Bishop Bonnemain was taking “the group’s declaration seriously”, the diocesan authorities told the media. Bonnemain criticised the way the group had interpreted the new code, the statement said.
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