A Swiss Catholic diocese has concluded that three parishioners who shared consecrated hosts with their dogs during a liturgy last year did not incur automatic excommunication, ruling that the act, while “deeply regrettable”, lacked the sacrilegious intent required under canon law. The decision was announced on April 17 by the Diocese of Chur following an internal investigation into an incident at a parish in Zurich.
The ruling was issued under the authority of Bishop Joseph Bonnemain, who serves the Diocese of Chur, after the episode occurred during a blessing of animals on October 4 at a parish in Zurich. According to the diocesan statement, poor weather led organisers to move the event indoors and combine it with a Eucharistic celebration, during which three individuals gave portions of the consecrated host to their pets.
Following reports of the incident, Bishop Bonnemain initiated a canonical investigation to determine whether the act constituted the crime of sacrilege. The diocese stated that the inquiry found no evidence of deliberate desecration.
“The findings clearly showed that the three individuals did not act with sacrilegious intent,” the statement said. “Consequently, these individuals cannot be accused of sacrilege, as they lacked this sacrilegious intent. Therefore, they did not incur the excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See as a penalty for their actions.”
Under the Code of Canon Law, a person who “throws away the consecrated species or, for a sacrilegious purpose, takes them away or keeps them” incurs an automatic, or latae sententiae, excommunication reserved to the Holy See. Canonical commentators have long held that the offence requires deliberate intent to profane the Eucharist, which the Church teaches to be the Real Presence of Christ under the appearances of bread and wine.
The diocese described the incident as “deeply regrettable” and said Bishop Bonnemain had arranged a retreat for parish staff focused on Eucharistic theology, including reflection on the apostolic exhortation Desiderio desideravi issued by Pope Francis. Local lay Catholics also organised a public act of reparation, including a rosary service attended by several dozen faithful earlier this year.
Today, the Catholic Church in Switzerland operates within a distinctive legal framework in which many dioceses function alongside publicly recognised church bodies supported through taxation systems administered by local cantons. This arrangement reflects the country’s federal structure and longstanding tradition of cooperation between religious communities and civil authorities. At the same time, church leaders have reported declining Mass attendance and growing secularisation, trends similar to those seen elsewhere in Western Europe.
The Diocese of Chur, one of the oldest Catholic jurisdictions in Switzerland, has faced several controversies in recent years involving pastoral practice and Church governance. Bishop Bonnemain, appointed in 2021, has encountered opposition from some clergy over policies concerning pastoral care and employment standards for Church workers under Swiss civil law.
Despite the unusual circumstances surrounding the Eucharistic incident, diocesan officials emphasised that the investigation focused strictly on the canonical definition of sacrilege. The decision not to impose excommunication rested on the determination that, while the conduct was improper and contrary to Catholic teaching, it did not meet the legal threshold for the most severe ecclesiastical penalty.
