Bishop Charles Morerod
BISHOP MOREROD WARNS AGAINST INTRUSIVE DISSEMINATION OF FAITH
Charles Morerod, Bishop of Lausanne-Genève-Fribourg, calls for a sensitive approach towards those seeking faith. People should not get the impression of having been "enticed into a sect."
In view of the increasing numbers of people who want to be baptized, the Swiss bishop warns against spiritual appropriation. New believers should not later have to say that they were "enticed into a sect," Morerod writes in his "Pastoral Letter" (May 2026).
At the same time, the bishop speaks of a "pleasant" phenomenon, that more and more people are discovering faith. However, many of the newcomers only have fragmentary knowledge of what being a Christian means today. They often lack the religious language; others are unable to integrate individual elements of faith into a whole.
The Church should not treat such people with quick and ready-made formulas, Morerod emphasizes. Rather, it must give testimony of faith in such a way that people can understand it from their own life experience and freely embrace it. Crucial are personal guidance and respect for individual paths of faith.
