Bernard Genoud

Bernard Genoud
Bernard Genoud
Bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg
Church	Catholic Church
Diocese	Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg
In office	18 March 1999 – 21 September 2010
Predecessor	Amédée Grab
Successor	Charles Morerod
Orders
Ordination	22 June 1968
Consecration	24 May 1999; by Amédée Grab
Personal details
Born	22 February 1942; Châtel-Saint-Denis, Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland
Died	21 September 2010 (aged 68); Fribourg, Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland

Bernard Genoud (22 February 1942 – 21 September 2010) was the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg from his appointment on 18 March 1999, until his death on 21 September 2010.^[1] He was consecrated bishop on 24 May 1999.^[1]

Bernard Genoud was born on 22 February 1942 in Châtel-Saint-Denis, Switzerland.^[2] He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1968. Bishop Genoud died on 21 September 2010 from lung cancer at a hospice in Fribourg, Switzerland, at the age of 68.^[2] His funeral was held at the Fribourg Cathedral on 25 September 2010.^[2]

Accusation of sexual abuse

In 2008, Bishop Genoud publicly asked Swiss Catholics for forgiveness during the priest sex abuse scandal in the country.^[2]

On December 11, 2023, Bishop Charles Morerod made a statement to the press accusing his predecessor, Bernard Genoud, of sexual abuse by a woman, then aged 19. The allegations date back to Bernard Genoud's days as a teacher at the Collège du Sud in Bulle, between 1976 and 1994.^[3]^[4]