(ZENIT News / Bern, 02.07.2026).- After a year of experimentation, the Catholic Church in Switzerland is drawing cautiously encouraging conclusions from an unprecedented initiative: the systematic psychological evaluation of future priests and pastoral workers. What began amid anxiety and internal unease has evolved into a structured process that Church leaders now see as a necessary tool for prevention in a post-abuse-crisis era.
The pilot program, launched in spring 2025, was born out of the shockwaves generated by a landmark 2023 study from the University of Zurich. That academic investigation documented sexual abuse within the Swiss Catholic Church dating back to the mid-20th century, including cases involving minors, and exposed long-standing institutional failures. In response, Swiss bishops opted for a measure rarely implemented so comprehensively in ecclesial settings: mandatory psychological screening as a condition for ministry.
Between April and December 2025, a total of 72 candidates were assessed across all dioceses in the country. The group included seminarians as well as lay pastoral workers—theologically trained collaborators who carry out catechetical, educational, and pastoral responsibilities. According to Church authorities, several candidates were ultimately deemed unsuitable, not only due to potential safeguarding risks but also because of deficits in social competence, emotional maturity, or psychological balance.
Stefan Loppacher, director of the Office for Abuse in the Ecclesial Context, acknowledged that the program initially met resistance. Fear and concern were widespread in its early stages, he explained in early February. Yet those reservations faded relatively quickly once the process began and candidates experienced the evaluations firsthand. Most participants described the assessments as professional, accessible, and appropriate, even if demanding and, at times, emotionally exhausting.
The evaluation model itself reflects a level of rigor more commonly associated with judicial or correctional systems than with church structures. Designed by the Research and Development Unit of the Zurich cantonal Office for Corrections and Reintegration, the procedure unfolds in four distinct phases. Candidates first undergo standardized psychological testing, followed by a competency-based interview conducted by qualified assessors. The third stage consists of a clinical-forensic interview aimed specifically at identifying risk factors relevant to pastoral ministry. Only at the final stage does a diocesan authority enter the process, weighing the external experts’ findings before making a decision. The first three phases are carried out entirely by independent specialists, including psychologists, forensic psychiatrists, and human resources professionals—ten experts in total contributed to the pilot.
One aspect that may escape the attention of the general public is the scope of what these evaluations examine. Beyond overt risk indicators, assessors focus on relational capacity, affective maturity, and atypical patterns in psychosexual development—areas increasingly recognized as critical in safeguarding contexts. The underlying goal is not diagnosis for its own sake, but the early identification of vulnerabilities that could compromise both the minister and those entrusted to his or her care.
Encouraged by the initial results, Church authorities are now expanding the program. Psychological evaluations will be extended to foreign chaplains working in Switzerland, a significant step in a country where pastoral ministry is deeply shaped by migration. Moreover, the new framework allows for active pastoral workers to be reassessed if their conduct raises serious concerns, particularly when there are signs of deficiencies in basic competencies, psychological stability, or emotional balance. This approach reflects a decree issued a year ago, signaling that suitability for ministry is not a one-time determination but an ongoing responsibility.
The initiative unfolds within a broader ecclesial and social context. Switzerland’s Catholic population stands at approximately 2.9 million faithful. While recent years have seen a modest decline, immigration has helped keep the numbers historically high, according to the Swiss Pastoral Sociology Institute. In such a landscape, the credibility of pastoral ministry carries weight not only within the Church but also in the public square.
For Swiss Church leaders, the pilot project represents neither a cure-all nor a public relations exercise. Rather, it is an attempt to translate hard lessons into structural change. The generally positive reception of the evaluations—despite their intensity—suggests that a cultural shift may be underway: one in which psychological scrutiny is no longer perceived as an affront to vocation, but as a prerequisite for trust.
Whether this model will become a reference point beyond Switzerland remains to be seen. What is already clear, however, is that the Church there has chosen to confront its past not only with words of repentance, but with procedures designed to reduce the risk of repeating it.
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