Switzerland’s largest Catholic women’s group drops ‘Catholic’ from name

CNA Deutsch, Jun 3, 2025 / 10:16 am (CNA).

In a landmark decision, the Swiss Catholic Women’s Federation (SKF) — the largest denominational women’s organization in the country with 100,000 members — has voted to remove the word “Catholic” from its name. The group will now operate as the Women’s Federation Switzerland, accompanied by the tagline “Surprisingly Different Catholic.”

Originally founded a century ago, the organization was established to preserve Catholic life in families, communities, and the state. It was also established as an alternative to the predominantly Protestant Swiss Federation of Women’s Associations.

As reported by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, the name change is driven by concerns regarding the public image of the term “Catholic.”

“As a Catholic umbrella organization, we consciously and repeatedly adopt positions different from those of the official Church,” Simone Curau-Aepli, the federation’s president, said of the change.

One concrete example of this is the SKF’s stance on homosexuality. Since 2001, the SKF board has advocated opening civil and ecclesiastical marriages to same-sex couples.

Manuela Winteler, head of the Bazenheid Women’s Community, maintained that “to save the ‘catholic’ in its original sense and the goals and values of the federation,” the word “Catholic” must disappear from the name.

She referred to the etymological meaning of “catholic,” which comes from Greek and means “all-embracing, total, universal.” This, she explained, signifies that the Church was “sent to all people,” not just to “members of the Roman Catholic denomination.”

The reasoning behind the name change drew criticism from Catholic organizations. Both the Cooperation Council of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference (SBK) and the Roman Catholic Central Conference (RKZ) expressed regret about the requested name change. It remains to be seen whether the move will also have financial consequences. The SBK receives around 7% of its funding from the RKZ.

The move by the SKF raises questions about whether similar decisions to “rebrand” will be made by Catholic women’s organizations in neighboring Germany and Austria. However, an analysis of current discussions suggests that the major Catholic women’s associations in both countries intend to maintain their religious name despite undergoing reflection processes.

German associations currently reject name change

The two largest Catholic womens’ organizations in Germany have ruled out renaming themselves in the manner of the Swiss. With approximately 265,000 members, the Catholic Women’s Community of Germany (Katholische Frauengemeinschaft Deutschlands, KFD) and with about 145,000 members, the Catholic German Women’s League (Katholischer Deutscher Frauenbund, KDFB), currently see no reason to remove “Catholic” from their names.

Agnes Wuckelt, deputy federal chairwoman of the KFD, stated that removing the “K” from the association’s name is not an issue at the federal level. Despite similar experiences to the SKF, the KFD is “proactively addressing” this by advocating strongly for women’s issues within the Catholic Church, she said.

The KDFB, however, described the name change of the Swiss women as an “understandable strategic decision,” without announcing any plans to rename their organization.

Instead, both associations instead are focusing on redefining what “Catholic” should mean in their context.

The KFD has expressed this intention for several years with the concept of “differently Catholic.” Birgit Kainz, KDFB regional chairwoman, explained: “We in the KDFB call ourselves ‘Catholic’ but understand ourselves not just as a Roman Catholic but as a Christian association.”

Austrian situation remains unchanged

With around 170,000 members, the Catholic Women’s Movement of Austria (Katholische Frauenbewegung Österreichs, KFB) has not yet made any efforts to change its confessional designation. Unlike the German associations, there are no documented public discussions about a possible name change.

The Austrian KFB is organized as a lay Church organization within the framework of Catholic Action, making it structurally more closely tied to Church hierarchies than its German sister organizations. This organizational integration may explain why discussions about abandoning “Catholic” in the name have not yet taken place publicly.