Swiss church official says papal trip will show church is 'alive'

Published: 2004-05-28

WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II's June 5-6 trip to Switzerland is designed to show that the faith is "alive with ideas," said the secretary-general of the Swiss bishops' conference. "This visit has to offer a perspective for the future by showing the Catholic faith is strong here and the church (is) alive with ideas," said Msgr. Agnell Rickemann, secretary-general. "I think the public will see that young people are much more interested in questions about believing and being a Christian," he said. A survey by Switzerland's GFS-Zurich Institute indicates that a majority of Swiss favor the ordination of women and priestly celibacy. Msgr. Rickemann said the survey's sampling of 1,002 Catholics was far below the minimum required for a representative survey and would not have an impact on the papal trip.

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