In Ticino, it is expected that Alain de Raemy will head the diocese of Lugano for some time. This is being acknowledged with mixed feelings.
As Apostolic Administrator, Alain de Raemy wants to visit all the parishes of the Diocese of Lugano.
The resignation of Valerio Lazzeri as Bishop of Lugano not only affected the clergy, but the entire public in Ticino, far beyond the circle of the Catholic faith community. It is not every day that a bishop appears before the media, almost in tears, begging forgiveness from those whose expectations he could not live up to because he was no longer able to bear the burden of the ministry.
Even the liberal Ticino newspaper “Corriere del Ticino” commented on Bishop Lazzeri’s words as “a painful farewell full of humanity”. The left-liberal daily “La Regione” would have liked to hear these clear and compassionate words in other episodes that made up the episcopate of Valerio Lazzeri, namely the closure of the Catholic daily newspaper “Giornale del Popolo” – including a number of dismissals – or the inglorious misconduct some priests.
«A bishop must also be a manager»
The reactions of the clergy varied between surprise, understanding and relief. In any case, the clear words with which Valerio Lazzeri acknowledged his shortcomings met with respect. “Many see in priests, bishops and the Pope infallible beings, but this gesture has made it clear that all dignitaries are human first, with their weaknesses,” commented Don Gianfranco Feliciani, archpriest of the parish of Chiasso.
Markus Krienke, professor at the Lugano Faculty of Theology, explained on RSI television that spiritual greatness is not enough today to lead a diocese: “A bishop must also be a manager and politician, a dimension that Bishop Lazzeri did not have much of. » The call for more decisive leadership of the diocese was heard everywhere.
The information portal kath.ch of the Catholic Media Center took a hard stance on the resigned bishop in a summary of its episcopate. He only appeared in Switzerland on August 1st – at the mass for the national holiday on the Gotthard: “In the case of sex scandals by his priests, he was not noticed either as an enlightener or as a confident communicator.”
Alain de Raemy, the 63-year-old auxiliary bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, who was appointed by the Pope as apostolic administrator of the diocese of Lugano with immediate effect and has already moved from Friborg to Lugano, has now also come into focus. He immediately spoke to the media about “our diocese” and announced in a jovial tone that he wanted to visit “all the parishes, even the farthest corners of the valleys”. Not even his predecessors managed to do that.
These statements have not escaped Luigi Maffezzoli, President of Azione Cattolica in Ticino and responsible editor of the website osservatore.ch: «De Raemy seems to be preparing for a longer presence in the diocese – in fact he has taken on the role of Bishop of Lugano. » With its appointment, the Vatican has managed diplomatically to circumvent the 1968 agreement between the Swiss Federal Council and the Holy See on the separation of the Apostolic Administration of Ticino from the Diocese of Basel. According to this agreement, the bishop of Lugano must be a Ticino.
Bishop must be from Ticino
He is appointed by the Holy See and “chosen from among the priests belonging to the canton of Ticino,” as the saying goes. This clause came into force with the establishment of the Diocese of Lugano in 1971. According to Maffezzoli, there is now, at least for a time, a return to the status before the establishment of the diocese, when it was subordinate to the diocese of Basel as an apostolic administration.
The task of finding suitable candidates from Ticino for the official successor to Bishop Lazzeri rests with Archbishop Martin Krebs, the apostolic nuncio in Bern, who was also present in Lugano on Monday and announced the appointment of Alain de Raemy as administrator. He probably won’t be in a hurry with his soundings.