Bishop Morerod dismisses accusations against the diocese – News Le Matin Dimanche: Le Matin Dimanche

The spirit of Christmas will have lasted only a short time this year in the diocese of Lausanne, Friborg and Geneva, prey to a violent internal quarrel. On Saturday, the “Tages-Anzeiger” echoed “serious accusations” against the bishopric and especially against the parish priest of the cathedral of Friborg, Paul Frochaux. Bishop Charles Morerod and his auxiliary, Alain de Raemy, are also targeted.

The allegations are based on letters sent on October 31 by an abbot of the diocese who practices today in the canton of Neuchâtel. The facts go back to the years 2008 to 2011, when the man of African origin was a seminarian at the presbytery of Vevey. He evokes a “homoerotic” climate there and says he was harassed. He targets the priest Frochaux who has assigned him a room without a door and visited him several times during the night. Paul Frochaux, whom we have managed to reach, says he is “upset by this injustice”.

“All this is false, I have been trying to live my priestly life as best as possible for 35 years. This abbot was my intern, we no longer have any contact, I don’t understand. ”Between the two men, there would only be a quarrel, when Paul Frochaux refused to allow the abbot to move in with the one he presented as “his cousin”.

A “revenge” according to the bishop

Contacted this Saturday, Charles Morerod did not return either. For him, all of this comes from a low revenge on the part of the abbot. “He was removed from office once, but a new procedure is underway due to numerous complaints from parishioners.”

Faced with the multiple difficulties encountered by this priest with his faithful, the bishop advised him to go for specialized training in Ottawa, Canada. What the abbot interpreted as a dismissal because “he knew too much,” he said to “Tages-Anzeiger”. According to him, it was a way of preventing him from being auditioned in the context of the procedure for the appointment of the Bishop of Chur, for which Alain de Raemy would be favored. For Charles Morerod, this makes no sense. In any case, it is certain that Alain de Raemy will not be appointed to Chur since other candidates, German-speaking, would be favored. “And we don’t consult as many people as the abbot seems to think,” added the bishop.

In his list of reproaches, the abbot also targets Alain de Raemy. According to him, Alain de Raemy and Paul Frochaux would often have both retired to a chalet in Torgon. Paul Frochaux confirms but denies any incompatible relationship with the Church. “We are like brothers and we have known each other for forty years. We shared our vacation, nothing more, with other colleagues. ”The chalet was owned by three priests, one of whom died.

In another complaint, the abbot said that Paul Frochaux had had a relationship with an addict whom he lodged at the presbytery. Again, the parish priest of Friborg contested. “It was a young man who was smoking joints that the police had asked me to help. He had a dramatic life course and he had only one year left to learn. I found him three places, without success. Then he left. “

Ongoing investigations

When he received these allegations, Charles Morerod summoned the abbot to go and speak to the police, which he did not do. In November, the bishop takes the steps himself. “I contacted the Vaud police, who contacted the abbot. The police then told me that the priest claimed that he had not witnessed sexual acts. For my part, I decided to undertake a preliminary ecclesiastical investigation, entrusted to a non-Christian lawyer from Geneva, therefore not subject to internal pressures, “explains the bishop to us.

But Charles Morerod is also directly targeted. The “Tages-Anzeiger” reports that a “file concerning the customs” of the priest Frochaux already existed in 2001, that is to say well before his appointment as priest of Friborg in 2012. According to our German-speaking colleagues, there is talk of an alleged assault on a 17 year old boy from his parish in the Torgon chalet. Charles Morerod denies.

“When the journalist contacted us, we looked for this file. We found a single leaf. Father Frochaux told me that this sheet was the continuation of a letter written to my predecessor and demanded that the journalist contact the author of this letter, because Father Frochaux is sure that this person Pauline Frochaux said he was waiting “the results of the investigation without worry even if it is never pleasant and that some would say that there is no smoke without fire.” He also plans to testify a complaint. As for the abbot concerned, he did not answer our calls.

Created: 28.12.2019, 22:39

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