Editor’s Note: Everyone has heard of the annual meetings of the World Economic Forum, founded by the psychopath Klaus Schwab, who presents himself as a Catholic. The WEF was co-founded by another Catholic, member of the House of Hapsburg. So is it a mere coincidence that the only major Monastery adjacent to Davos, that of Saint Maurice, has now been exposed as a center for systematic sexual abuse? One has to ask the question. Vladimir Putin, a known pedophile, was recruited by the WEF in 1996, when he came with his wife and new born son to Davos. It’s horrible to imagine the implications.
Here is the article which is cited as the source of the above report:
What are we going to do?
Were we to wager…NOTHING…As usual.
People have no courage of conviction based in faith and so evil will grow and thrive while the faithful perish and die to Earth. Can only wonder at how many will die as martyrs nearest the throne of God before humanity awakens.
THIS IS DISGUSTING…NAUSEATING. Am glad I couldn’t read it as I don’t know German. The mere suggestion is more repugnant than possible to imagine…Right up near knowing the unspeakable torture of babies they ritually abuse. My…How has our Lord not ended this world?
Note that the territorial Abbey of St-Maurice does not depend on the diocese of Sion, but directly on Rome.
An investigation by the French TV program Mise au point (RTS : Radio Télévision Suisse) reveals numerous cases of sexual abuse within the Abbey of Saint-Maurice, one of the most prestigious institutions in the Catholic world. A total of 9 priests are implicated in the cases. Among them is the institution’s interim head, Prior Roland Jaquenoud. He had taken up his post after the withdrawal of Abbé Jean Scarcella, also accused of sexual abuse.
“The priest put his hand down my pants. I was petrified. “The little girl I was felt something hard under the priest’s cassock”. “This canon was nicknamed the frotteur”. These testimonies tell different stories, but these victims all denounce priests from St-Maurice. Mise au point investigated the Abbey for weeks. This institution is one of the most prestigious in the Catholic world, in terms of its history and reputation.
In all, the Mise au point investigation identified 9 priests, all linked to accusations of sexual abuse or pedo-criminality. Some of these priests are still in office, while others have passed away. The majority of cases took place between 1995 and 2005. These cases concern the lycée-collège, the former boarding school, which will close in 2021, and the parishes where the Abbey’s canons worked.
Victims speak out
Mélanie Bonnard is the victim of one of these canons. She was sexually abused at the age of 12. The assault took place in the family home during a visit by the priest. The man of the cloth took her on his lap, one hand on her chest, then under her panties. “He put his fingers in, he penetrated me (…) but I managed to struggle, I knew it wasn’t right. I went to the police with my mom. They filmed me making the statement and asked me lots of questions. It was very difficult and intimidating.
The court-appointed psychiatrist was adamant that Melanie’s statements were not the product of her imagination. Her testimony was deemed credible. Despite this, the court dismissed the case in 2005. The priest has always denied the accusations. When confronted by the police, the priest asserted that he had never made any gesture of a sexual nature towards the young girl. “It was my word against the priest’s. I didn’t stand a chance. I didn’t stand a chance,” says Mélanie. When contacted, the priest declined to answer our questions. The case was dismissed.
Who would you have believed: me or the priests?
A Valaisan victim of abuse
Mise au point also received testimonies from relatives of victims. People who never dared lodge a complaint. “My brother was abused as a child. He was at boarding school in St-Maurice. The sexual abuse most often took place in the sacristy before morning mass, which the boarders had to serve in turn. My brother was raped by two canons, sometimes alone, sometimes both together”.
This is the testimony of Luc*, a Valaisan who grew up in a small village near Martigny. It took years for his brother to tell his family: “It was only at the age of 50, during a family meal, that my brother confided in me. (…) When my father and mother asked him why he hadn’t said anything, his answer was horrible: ‘Who would you have believed: me or the priests? Luc wants to remain anonymous. He wants to protect his brother, who has never made public the abuse he suffered.
Discreet justice
In the case of Mélanie Bonnard, the victim dared to lodge a complaint, but this changed nothing. The priest’s case was dismissed. The police report, which we have been able to consult, reveals that the investigation was cursory and that the examining magistrate at the time ordered the police to limit their search, perhaps preventing other clues or victims from being found.
It reads: “For reasons of discretion and in accordance with your orders, no investigation was carried out in the areas frequented by the priest, in particular in the schools where he had been teaching for many years”. This approach seems to have satisfied the priest. In a letter sent to the judge, the canon complimented him on his work: “I thank you, because I believe that the harm of such a case being brought to light, here in a parish (…), would be great. What mother bringing her child to school, what family entrusting a youngster to me for a camp, etc., would have an untroubled gaze from now on”.
In several other cases in St-Maurice, justice has been very discreet. In 1994, a priest was arrested by the Valais police after ordering child pornography videos. He got off with a simple warning from the examining magistrate. The canon is allowed to continue teaching at the Collège de St-Maurice.
The Saint-Maurice boarding school. [Salvatore Di Nolfi – Keystone]
The Saint-Maurice boarding school. [Salvatore Di Nolfi – Keystone]
A missed opportunity, because in 1997 he was arrested for a new case. He had sexually abused two children aged 11 and 12 abroad. This time, the scandal broke and made headlines in the regional newspapers. During his trial, the canon confessed to having had intimate relations with numerous children over a period of years. At St-Maurice College, two alleged victims were interviewed by the police, but this part of the investigation came to nothing. In the end, the priest was given a fifteen-month suspended prison sentence and returned to the lay state.
A few years later, it was another missed opportunity for justice and St-Maurice. Another canon was arrested twice, first in 1999, then in 2004. It was not until the second case of paedocriminality broke that the Abbey reacted. The canon had to leave his parish and stop all activities with the young faithful.
Unsupported victims
Almost all the canons identified by Mise au point were reported to the management of St-Maurice by victims or the police. In the case of Mélanie Bonnard, she informed the Church a second time as an adult. In 2018, Abbé Jean Scarcella received and listened to her. The head of St-Maurice Abbey then promised to pass on her testimony to the Vatican. “Since 2018, I have contacted the abbot several times. He said that the Vatican had been warned, that we had to wait for an answer, to be patient.”
Finally, Mélanie Bonnard lost patience and wrote to the Holy See herself. She received a letter from Rome in the following weeks. An invitation to a general audience. “The Vatican had not received my file. I was able to go to Rome to submit my testimony and the legal documents. It was a relief. For once, I had the impression of being believed, of being listened to”. When contacted, Abbé Jean Scarcella declined to comment. He would neither confirm nor deny Melanie’s comments.
The alleged victim is in a great deal of pain, feeling that she has been mistreated a second time by the Church, because her denunciation was not taken seriously.
Nicolas Betticher, former Vicar General of the Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg
Dominique Mure is another of St-Maurice’s victims. This 66-year-old man from the Jura region is a man whose life has been turned upside down. He lost his footing following a bankruptcy and difficulties with his family and friends. As a child, he lived through a complex family history. “I often went to my grandmother’s house to get away from home. There was often the priest Louis*, I trusted him, he was the good Lord on earth for me and my family”.
Dominique explains that he was repeatedly abused by the canon. The priest, a cousin of the family, was a regular visitor to the Jura. In the 1970s, he represented the Abbey of Saint-Maurice on the board of the Collège Saint-Charles in Porrentruy. The Valais Public Prosecutor’s Office has been informed of the case, but the criminal statute of limitations has expired and the canon is deceased.
Dominique has nonetheless taken steps to have the abuse recognized by the Church through an official report. He has also asked St-Maurice for help. He wants access to the archives, where he hopes to find information on other victims of the same priest. At the beginning of November, he went to St-Maurice to consult the archives. A member of the Abbey received him politely. Dominique obtained some general information and a few documents from the archives. However, he was unable to consult the archives himself, or find any other victims.
Abbey manager accused of sexual abuse
Last September, it was the Abbot himself who announced that he had been accused of sexual abuse. Jean Scarcella withdrew from the management of the Abbey.
>> Read: Suspicions of sexual abuse: preliminary investigation into the father-abbot of Saint-Maurice
Behind these accusations is a priest, Nicolas Betticher, former vicar general of the diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, who denounced the abbot. Mise au point was able to obtain a copy of this letter. It reads: “An alleged victim, a teenager at the time of the events, claims to have been sexually assaulted by Jean Scarcella, the current abbot of St-Maurice. (…) The alleged victim is suffering greatly, as she feels that she has been mistreated a second time by the Church, as her denunciation was not taken seriously.”
Abbé Jean Scarcella, in May 2015. [Olivier Maire – Keystone]
Abbé Jean Scarcella, in May 2015. [Olivier Maire – Keystone]
According to several well-placed sources within the Catholic Church, the assault took place during a piano lesson. The alleged victim also wrote her own letter of denunciation. This letter has been sent to the Vatican and a copy is in the hands of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference, which is conducting a preliminary investigation.
Jean Scarcella did not wish to give any further details. He explained: “As you know, a canonical investigation is currently underway. In these circumstances, and for the sake of the investigation, I cannot speak publicly or privately. This is why I will not be able to comply with your request.”
One accusation hides another
Since the Abbé’s retirement, St-Maurice has been run by Roland Jaquenoud. The new head of the abbey has a difficult task ahead of him: he must restore confidence in the wake of the accusations against the abbot. On the abbey’s website, Prior Jaquenoud addresses the faithful to reassure them: “I feel immense astonishment at the scale of the abuses (…) We must do everything humanly possible to prevent these abuses and their concealment, the main cause of their repetition, in the future.”
However, Mise au point’s investigation reveals that he too is at the heart of a sexual abuse affair. The case dates back to 2003. At the time, Canon Jaquenoud was alleged to have taken advantage of the weakness of a novice, in his capacity as direct superior, to obtain non-consensual sex from him. Novices are young men, often barely of age, who wish to become canon. Mise au Point was able to contact Roland Jaquenoud’s victim by telephone. She wishes to remain anonymous and not to speak out, but confirms the accusations without giving any details.
>> See the Mise au point story
At first, the Abbey tried to hush up the affair, but one of the novices alerted the Vatican. A letter of denunciation is sent to the Holy See. A Vatican emissary is assigned to investigate sexual abuse within the Abbey. Marc*, a former monk at St-Maurice, remembers: “The Vatican sent the Benedictine abbot from Solesmes to investigate. During his stay, he conducted interrogations. I myself was questioned for about an hour. His questions focused mainly on Roland Jaquenoud and his intimate relations with the novices”. Here again, everything was kept secret. It was a courtesy visit, and no information left the Abbey walls.
The Church always settles its problems internally, in complete secrecy. This encourages abuse and sexual crimes.
Marie-Jo Abey, SAPEC Group Vice-President
Daniel*, a former canon of St-Maurice, explains: “The Holy See put pressure on the Abbey to settle the matter and remove Roland Jaquenoud. The management at the time decided to move him abroad. A way of preserving the Church’s image.” The former cleric points out that the matter was taken seriously by the highest levels of the Vatican. According to Daniel, the Pope himself verified that Roland Jaquenoud had indeed left his post. “During the Pope’s visit to Switzerland in 2004, John Paul II asked, through an intermediary, whether the Jaquenoud affair had been settled”. The Pope’s enquiry is said to have taken place during a meal attended by several representatives of the Swiss Catholic Church.
In Les Echos de Saint-Maurice, an article describes the fate of the victim and witnesses: “We are very saddened by one departure: that of 3 novices and a deacon who are in turn leaving the Abbey (…) We pray that each of them, after a troubled life journey, will find the path to which the Lord is calling him”.
Roland Jaquenoud is leaving Switzerland for Kazakhstan. He remains attached to St-Maurice as a canon, but is sent on mission for many years in this former Soviet Union country. He preached in small, isolated towns such as Lissakovsk (population 36,000), and in 2009 was appointed parish priest of Astana Cathedral, the capital of Kazakhstan.
Marie-Jo Abey, vice-president of Groupe SAPEC, a victims’ association, deplores this method of concealment “We’re talking here about recent cases, concealed until now. This shows that the Church has not changed. It still settles its problems internally, in complete secrecy. This encourages sexual abuse and crimes.”
Roland Jaquenoud declined to comment. However, it is important to point out that no criminal complaint has been lodged in Valais. Officially, his trip to Kazakhstan is not linked to a case of sexual abuse. In the Abbey diary for 2004, it is written: “Roland Jaquenoud has been called by the bishop of the local church to give theological training courses to lay catechists and seminarians. He is fulfilling a fine ministry in this former USSR province, in the Russian language, which he masters well.”
Forgiveness
In 2015, Roland Jaquenoud left Kazakhstan and returned to Valais. Despite this background, he took up the prestigious post of prior and number two of St-Maurice. In Switzerland, as in the Vatican, Roland Jaquenoud’s past is well known. Many of the people contacted by Mise au Point in Swiss Catholic circles know all or part of the story. This did not prevent him from being chosen to replace Abbé Scarcella in September 2023. He becomes the head of one of Switzerland’s most prestigious Catholic institutions. The Swiss Bishops’ Conference declined to comment.
In St-Maurice, the Abbey was informed of the findings of the Mise au point investigation. However, it did not wish to grant us an interview. In a letter, the Abbey’s representative sent this message: “All the cases brought to our attention have been dealt with according to the rules. There is only one case in progress with us, that of Monsignor Jean Scarcella, which is currently the subject of a preliminary investigation on which we can obviously make no comment.”
Victims’ associations are reacting strongly. Marie-Jo Abey, vice-president of Groupe SAPEC, condemns the situation: “To replace Abbé Scarcella, who is accused of sexual abuse, the Abbey of St-Maurice has chosen a person who is also accused of abuse. This is unthinkable. I can’t stand it. It shows that the Church still has a very long way to go to finally combat abuse, to finally be forgiven.”
François Ruchti
Francois.ruchti@rts.ch
*names known to the editors
Published Sunday at 19:27 Modified Monday at 18:16
St-Maurice Abbey
The Abbey of St-Maurice is a territorial abbey in the canton of Valais. Its history makes it one of the most prestigious institutions in the Catholic world. It was founded in 515. It is the oldest surviving monastic establishment in the Christian West.
The Abbey of St-Maurice is directly dependent on the Holy See, a unique feature. It is not the Bishop of Sion who supervises the Abbey, but directly the Vatican. At present, there are fewer than thirty canons. They are active in various parishes, as well as in a mission in the Congo. The Collège de St-Maurice is still run by a canon, but the boarding school will be closed in 2021.
Our survey method
Mise au Point’s investigation began in September, following the University of Zurich’s report on sexual abuse within the church. Over 1,000 victims were identified throughout Switzerland.
In addition to the many testimonies from victims, the investigation is based on court files and church archives. Information also comes from direct or indirect witnesses to the various cases. Numerous former monks from St-Maurice were also anonymous sources of information. Mise au Point was also able to count on the assistance of trusted individuals within the Abbey to validate and confirm certain accusations. This verification work led to the list of 9 priests identified in the report.
The names of most of the canons were withheld for legal reasons. In Switzerland, the legal basis for publishing names in the press is based primarily on the presumption of innocence and the general principles of the right to privacy. However, the public interest and the duty to inform require journalists to divulge the names of important, well-known people in advance. This is the case for the management of St-Maurice, Abbé Jean Scarcella and interim manager Roland Jaquenoud. These two people are well known in Valais. They lead or have led one of the most prestigious abbeys in the Catholic world.
https://www.rts.ch/info/regions/valais/14476795-pretres-pedophiles-abus-sexuels-les-secrets-de-labbaye-de-saintmaurice.html
It is interesting that this case became public AFTER the Bishops of Switzerland were investigated by the Vatican for protecting child abusers. Evidently, something was found in the Diocesan archives which mentioned Saint Maurice.
“During the pope’s visit to Switzerland in 2004, John Paul II asked, by interlocutor, whether the Jaquenoud case had been settled”. This verification of the pope would have taken place during a meal in the presence of several representatives of the Swiss Catholic Church.
More proof that this man was no Saint. Because a Saint would have ordered a visitation and cleaned it up before it metastasized.
Sickening