Switzerland: Bürglen’s parish priest will bless no more same-sex unions
The parish priest of Bürglen (Uri) and the bishop of Coire reached an agreement on the “foundation of the teachings of the Catholic Faith” according to the statements to the press made by the diocesan spokesman, Guiseppe Gracia, on April 28th, quoted by Apic the same day. “Fr. Wendelin Bucheli has committed to no longer bless homosexual unions and to respect the teachings of the Church on this matter,” can be read in the release published by the Swiss agency. “Based on this promise,” the bishop of Coire, Bishop Vitus Huonder therefore no longer requires his resignation as the parish priest of Bürglen (see Dici no. 311, 27/02/15).
According to Radio Television Suisse (RTS) the priest “regrets” that the blessing of a lesbian couple “hurt many people.” He “also regrets the inconvenience caused to the bishop of Coire, whose representative he is” and reaffirms his “loyalty to the Church, as well as to its bishop and its teaching.”
Guiseppe Gracia confirmed on April 29th to cath.ch (the Catholic Church’s main website in Switzerland) that the blessing of this homosexual couple will not have any further repercussions on Fr. Bucheli. “When someone recognizes his fault and promises to mend his ways, every bishop must show indulgence. A bishop is not there to punish, but rather above all to unify and reinforce the teaching of the Church. That is what happened in this case.”
(Sources: kipa-apic.ch – Cath.ch – RTS – DICI no. 315, 15/05/15)
