Switzerland's defence minister has written to church leaders to apologize for failing to consult them before quietly stripping clergy of their long-standing exemption from military service obligations, a procedural lapse that has drawn criticism from Catholic and Protestant leaders alike.
Defence Minister Martin Pfister acknowledged in a letter dated July 21 that the Federal Council had made "an oversight" by not inviting church organizations to participate in the consultation process. "Given the direct impact on your organisations, you should unquestionably have been invited to participate," he wrote. "We ask your forgiveness."
The exemption under Article 18 of the Military Act was abolished effective June 1, 2026, without prior consultation with churches and without parliamentary debate, according to Swiss public broadcaster SRF. Since then, nine clergy members have been called up to complete outstanding service obligations.
The government had justified the change by arguing that pastoral care no longer holds equivalent importance for civil society. Pfister's letter softened that position somewhat, affirming the "importance of clergy in extraordinary situations" and the value of their contributions to psychological wellbeing during crises — language that sits in some tension with the original rationale for removing the exemption.
Peter Schneeberger, president of Freikirchen.ch, the umbrella body for Swiss free churches, opined earlier that the episode amounted to the state "quietly retreating" from its recognition of pastoral care as a public service. He described it as a form of self-secularization — a fundamental reassessment of the churches' societal contribution that took place without open debate.
Schneeberger also noted a contradiction in timing. Switzerland, like other European nations, has been publicly stressing resilience and social cohesion in the face of rising geopolitical tensions — areas in which pastoral care plays a recognized role. To remove the exemption at precisely this moment, he argued, was inconsistent with that broader policy direction.
Catholic Bishop Alain de Raemy responded positively to Pfister's letter, viewing the apology as a genuine acknowledgment of error — one that, in his view, warranted forgiveness. Protestant churches have been less satisfied. Pastor Stéphane Klopfenstein raised concerns about having to seek exemptions individually on a repeated basis and called on the government to provide written guarantees, SRF reported.
Pfister's letter confirms that clergy who cannot leave their parishes will be able to apply for a deferral or leave of absence, subject to a weighing of interests. The government maintains, however, that the practical impact of the change is limited: most male clergy are already beyond the age of service obligation given Switzerland's comparatively short period of compulsory military service, and female clergy are not subject to compulsory service at all. Only younger male pastors are directly affected.
Schneeberger's preferred solution was not a restoration of the old exemption but a reorientation: he advocated for redirecting clergy toward military chaplaincy roles, where their skills in crisis support and ethical guidance could serve soldiers. That pathway, he noted, has been open to free church pastors for several years.
Churches said they remain troubled that the change was made without consulting them in a country whose constitutional preamble still invokes God. Despite the apology, the question of whether the government will provide the formal guarantees Protestant churches are seeking remains unresolved.
