2026-03-07

Swiss Bishops Embrace Secular Psychology Over Spiritual Discernment

The Swiss bishops’ conference has unanimously decided to continue and expand mandatory psychological assessments for all aspiring pastoral workers, including priests, following a positive review of a pilot program initiated in 2025. The assessments, designed by forensic psychologist Jérôme Endrass, consist of four parts: standardized psychological testing, a one-on-one interview with assessors, an interview with an external specialist probing personal history, and a final interview with a diocesan formation leader. The bishops cite the need to prevent abuse and ensure “basic competencies,” funding the program long-term despite criticisms of intrusiveness, cost (~$6,400 per test), and reliance on secular criteria that may exclude doctrinally rigid but spiritually capable candidates.

The true scandal lies not in the bishops’ attempt to curb abuse—a praiseworthy goal—but in their fundamental rejection of the supernatural framework of Catholic vocation and discernment, replacing it with a naturalistic, psychological paradigm that embodies the Modernist apostasy condemned by the pre-Conciliar Magisterium.