Parish throws weight behind rebel priest

Priest Franz Sabo's (left) future lies in the hands of Bishop Kurt Koch. Keystone/Urs Flüeler/SF DRS

Catholic churchgoers have rejected the bishop of Basel’s decision to dismiss their parish priest in the first case of its kind in Switzerland.

The parish of Röschenz in canton Basel Country gave its backing to outspoken priest Franz Sabo, whom the bishop has threatened with dismissal, in a vote on Tuesday.

Bishop Kurt Koch announced last month that Sabo’s canonical mission – or authority to teach Catholic doctrine – would be revoked in September 2005, saying that it was no longer possible to work with him.

However, Sabo, a 51-year-old German national, is well-liked in the village. In Tuesday’s meeting, half of the parish or 415 members voted in favour of retaining the priest.

“We have a very critical priest but people here like him and he also brings people into the church,” said Holger Wahl, president of the Catholic community in Röschenz.

“The problem we had was that the Bishop decided that the priest had to go without talking to us and that is what the people here didn’t accept,” he told swissinfo.

Solution?

Wahl reserved harsh criticism for Koch, saying that he had not fulfilled his duty to restore peace between the Church and the parish.

“It will be very difficult [to find a solution] between the two of us, the Bishop and the community,” said Wahl.

“What I hope now is that we can get some kind of mediator, perhaps from the church’s Synod in Basel, who can help us to get things sorted out.”

The parish’s decision to back Sabo is not legally binding. But Wahl says a priest’s work is still valid, even without a canonical mission, which is why Sabo could stay on in the parish.

According to the constitution of the Catholic Church in canton Basel Country, of which Röschenz is a part, a priest can only be hired by a community if he has a canonical mission. But there are no instructions as to what happens when this is removed.

However, the last word on Sabo is likely to come from the Bishop of Basel, who has not yet released an official statement on the Röschenz decision.

The Basel Catholic Church Synod indicated on Wednesday it was willing to act as a mediator.

War of words

Sabo, who has been Röschenz’s priest since 1998, has openly criticised Koch several times over the past few years.

In a recent Sunday sermon, Sabo accused the Church hierarchy of abusing its power.

“You do not represent Jesus as He is in the Bible. You are celebrating yourselves and your power,” Sabo was quoted as saying in the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper.

In response, the bishopric published an open letter to parishioners on Tuesday, calling on them to support its point of view.

In a news conference held on Monday, Bernhard Trauffer, the vicar-general of the diocese of Basel, said that Sabo had used church services for personal attacks against the heads of the diocese and the whole of the Church.

“There is no longer any trust in the work of the priest Franz Sabo,” said Trauffer.

swissinfo

Key facts

The case is apparently the first of its kind in the Swiss Catholic Church.
The legal status is unclear as church law only covers the hiring and not firing of a priest.
If the canonical mission is taken away, a priest is no longer allowed to minister to his parish.
The next step should be taken by the diocese of Basel.

In brief

Parishioners in Röschenz have voted in support of keeping their local priest, Franz Sabo, who has been threatened with dismissal by the bishop of Basel.

415 churchgoers, or half the parish, voted against the bishop’s decision.

Sabo has openly criticised the bishop in the past few years.