Charles Morerod, O.P. (born 28 October 1961), is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

Dominican prelate. Since 2011, he has been bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg. Previously, he served as Rector of the

Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy O ...

(the Angelicum), professor of dogmatic theology, and Secretary General of the

International Theological Commission The International Theological Commission (ITC) is a body of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church; it advises the magisterium of the church, particularly the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), a dicastery of the Roman Curia. Its mem ...

Early life and education

Morerod was born on 28 October 1961 in

Riaz Riaz (; frp, Rua, or ) is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Gruyère (district), Gruyère in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Fribourg (canton), Fribourg in Switzerland. History Riaz is first mentioned in 90 ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. He entered the Dominican

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

in 1983, and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

a priest in 1988. Morerod earned a licentiate in theology from the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (french: Université de Fribourg; german: Universität Freiburg) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius ...

in 1987, and a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in theology from the same university in 1994. He was

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to the university from 1991 to 1994. In 1996, he obtained a licentiate in philosophy, also from the University of Fribourg, and a doctorate in philosophy from the

Catholic University of Toulouse The Institut Catholique de Toulouse (or ICT) is a Catholic university in Toulouse, France. The Catholic Institute of Toulouse (ICT) is a private institution of higher education including the humanities and social sciences, law and theology, as wel ...

in 2004.

Ordained ministry

From 1987 to 1989 Morerod was engaged in pastoral ministry, first as a deacon and then as vice-parish priest at the parish of St. Paul in Geneva. From 1989 to 1992 he was Assistant at the Faculty of Theology, University of Fribourg from 1991 to 1994 and chaplain of the University of Fribourg. In 1993 he received his doctorate in theology and a licentiate in philosophy in 1996. From 1994 to 1999 he was adjunct professor of Fundamental Theology at the University of Fribourg and since 1996 professor at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. Since 1997 he is editor of the edition in the French journal ''Nova et Vetera''. In 1999 he became full-time professor at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. From 1999 to 2002 he also taught at the Faculty of Theology of Lugano. He was Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Theology from 2003 to 2009 and Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. In 2004 he obtained his doctorate in philosophy at the Catholic Institute of Toulouse. From 2008-2011, he was also academic director of the Rome program for Catholic Studies students at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. In April 2009 he was appointed Secretary General of the International Theological Commission and Consultant of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Morerod was appointed rector of the Angelicum in September 2009. He has been secretary general of the

since 22 April 2009, and consultor of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from Heresy in Christianity, heresy and is ...

. A disciple of Charles Cardinal Journet, he has written several theological articles in the review ''

Nova et Vetera ''Nova et Vetera'' is a theological review in the tradition of Thomism which focuses on contemporary issues facing the Roman Catholic Church. Published in the Swiss region of Romandy, the main language of the journal is French. It is also publis ...

'', reflecting on the doctrinal and philosophical aspects of

ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

. He is also an ordinary member of the

Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas The Pontifical Academy of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PAST; la, Pontificia Academia Sancti Thomae Aquinati) is a pontifical academy established on 15 October 1879 by Pope Leo XIII. The academy is one of the pontifical academies housed along with ...

. Since 26 October 2009, Morerod has been a member of the team responsible for the dialogue with the Society of St. Pius X.

Episcopal ministry

On 3 November 2011 Pope Benedict XVI named Morerod Bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg. He was consecrated on 11 December at the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Fribourg. Georges Cardinal Cottier, a fellow Dominican, was the principal consecrator. On 12 June 2012 Bishop Morerod was appointed a member of the

Congregation for Catholic Education , type = Congregation , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , picture =Via della Conciliazione din Roma1.jpg , picture_caption = Palazzo delle Congregazioni in Piazza ...

. He was appointed a member of the

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments it, Dicastero per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti , type = Dicastery , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , p ...

. On July 15, 2020, a Catholic Church inquiry found the Morerod was did not protect a former priest in his Diocese who was facing sex abuse allegations, but that Morerod said he had been told about the reported abuse, but the cases had been “downplayed". However, it was also acknowledged that the number of reported cases of abuse involving Catholic priests and monks have been increasing over the past few years and that the payment of financial compensation which Morerod and his Diocese distributed for victims of abuse totaled CHF675,000 ($718,000) in 2018 - up from CHF425,000 in the previous year - according to figures released by the Vatican News.

References

External links

Faculty page at the Angelicum
*
''Curriculum vitae'' of Fr. Morerod
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morerod, Charles 1961 births Living people People from the canton of Fribourg Swiss Dominicans 20th-century Swiss Roman Catholic theologians International Theological Commission 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Switzerland Members of the Congregation for Catholic Education 21st-century Swiss Roman Catholic theologians