A former Swiss auxiliary bishop has warned that Islam is “incompatible with the Western idea of freedom” and described post-Second Vatican Council liturgical reform as a “rather violent … reconstruction” in a wide-ranging interview published by AdVaticanum. Marian Eleganti, speaking on the Church’s future, abuse scandals and the traditional liturgy, also cited “a factual correlation” between clergy abuse cases and homosexuality, and said the Eucharist is now widely treated as “a mere symbol”.
The interview brings together several of the most direct public statements by the former auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chur since his early retirement in 2021. Reflecting on the legacy of the Second Vatican Council, he described the post-conciliar reform of the Mass as “a rather violent, provisional reconstruction … associated with great losses that need to be addressed”, pointing in particular to changes in orientation, prayers and ritual form.
