The Roman Catholic bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, Bernard Genoud, has died at the age of 68, according to a statement from the diocese.
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“Faithful to his ecclesiastical office, he fought with courage against the cancer which he announced at the beginning of October 2009,” the bishopric said in a statement.
Genoud was ordained a bishop in 1999 and served on the presidium of the Swiss Bishops Conference from 2007.
Genoud, who was seen as being close to the people, publicly asked forgiveness from victims of paedophile priests at the beginning of February 2008 amid the deepening sex scandal in the Catholic Church.
His funeral is to take place in the St Nicolas cathedral in Fribourg on September 25. A successor will have to be named by the pope.
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