Court allows parish to keep rebel priest

The court decision was a huge relief for the outspoken priest, Franz Sabo Keystone

A civil court has decided that a Catholic parish council can continue to employ an outspoken priest who has been in dispute with Switzerland’s Catholic Church.

The unusual legal decision is the latest episode in a long-running saga involving Catholic priest Franz Sabo, who is supported by the parish of Röschenz in canton Basel Country, and Basel Bishop Kurt Koch.

Sabo, who was Röschenz parish priest between 1998 and 2005, had been at loggerheads with the Roman Catholic Church for some time, having accused the local leadership of abusing its power.

On Wednesday Basel Country cantonal court upheld an appeal lodged by Röschenz parish against a directive by the local Catholic Church sacking the former priest.

Sabo has been working as a parish administrator in Röschenz since his canonical mission – or authority to teach Catholic doctrine – was revoked in 2005.

The local parish maintained the Church did not have the right to force it to sack him from his parish administrator’s post.

In spring the court proposed a reconciliation process, but the bishop rejected this, resulting in the trial.

According to the judges, while the Church had the authority to withdraw Sabo’s canonical mission, his dismissal was not within the framework of Swiss labour laws.

They argued that his dismissal procedure had not been formally respected from a legal point of view.

Following the verdict Bernhard Cueni, a member of the Röschenz parish council, told journalists: “We have got closer to our objective… we can keep Franz Sabo, at least for the moment.”

Long-running saga

The Sabo affair is unique in the history of Switzerland’s Catholic Church.

In August 2003 Sabo criticised Bishop Koch in the Basler Zeitung newspaper, in particular over a directive banning defrocked priests from leading services.

In March 2005, Koch announced that the dissident priest’s canonical mission would be revoked in September, saying that it was no longer possible to work with him.

Koch revoked the licence of Father Franz Sabo in October 2005 after he continued to defy orders to quit his parish in Röschenz.

But Röschenz parish council continued to support Sabo, rejecting “the dictate of the bishop” and refusing to terminate his contract.

During the trial, parish members came to sharp verbal blows with members of the Catholic Church present in court.

swissinfo with agencies

Key facts

There are 3’047’887 Roman Catholics (41.82% of the population) in Switzerland according to the 2000 census.

1990: 3,172,321 (46,15%)

1980: 3,030,069 (47,60%)

1970: 3,096,654 (49,39%)

The Catholic Church in Switzerland is divided into six dioceses.

The biggest number of faithful live in the diocese of Basel, which covers much of northern and northwestern Switzerland.