Cardinal Eijk, of Utrecht (primate of the Netherlands), in an interview with Catholic periodical COMMUNIO.
The church must speak with one voice
Cardinal Eijk on mission, secularization and the World Synod
The Church in the Netherlands was once regarded as very progressive. Disillusionment and collapse followed. Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk warns in an interview: Don't repeat our mistakes! In an extremely secularized society, the Archbishop of Utrecht is counting on a new missionary awakening.
By Willem Jacobus Eijk, Benjamin Leven, Lambert Hendriks
COMMUNIO: The Netherlands is considered one of the most secular societies in Western Europe. How Christian are the Netherlands still?
Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk: In 2022, a survey of the Dutch showed that, for the first time, more than 50 percent of the population described themselves as atheists or agnostics. In my childhood, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, things were very different. In our small village on the outskirts of Amsterdam, almost everyone went to church on Sundays. There were four masses: three silent masses and a high mass with organ and choir. The church was full of children and young people. Back then, there were still these large Catholic families; there was a family with seventeen children in our street. But that changed very quickly after 1965. Between 1965 and 1975, the number of people attending church halved. In Amsterdam and the surrounding area, you could see with the naked eye that fewer people were coming to church every Sunday. At the same time, Catholic social life also collapsed rapidly.
COMMUNIO: How did this come about?
Eijk: Secularization began with growing prosperity. It made it possible for people to live individually, detached from the community. Individuals put themselves at the center and become their own pope, so to speak: they choose their own religious interpretation and their own ethical values. As a result, they lose their connection to the church. Prosperity leads to individualization and individualization leads to secularization. That is the sequence. In the Netherlands, this happened quickly, especially in the 1960s, when prosperity increased at an unprecedented rate. Suddenly, for example, everyone had a washing machine and a fridge.
COMMUNIO: What is the situation today?
Eijk: In 2012, we still had 250,000 churchgoers. After the coronavirus period, this number dropped to less than 90,000, and now it is around 100,000. That is approximately 2.5 percent of registered Catholics.
COMMUNIO: Does that not make you disheartened as an archbishop?
Eijk: No, it doesn't. We see the fact of secularization, but we are also doing something about it. Several dioceses are in the process of setting up missionary projects in the parishes. You are not sitting in front of a desperate man.
COMMUNIO: Can you give some examples of this?
Eijk: One example is the Alpha course, which was developed by an Anglican pastor in London. He wanted to bring more people to his church and put together a course of about 10 evenings. It explains in a simple way who Jesus is, how we can get to know him and what the Bible is. Each meeting begins with an introduction, followed by a discussion and a meal together. This meal is important for community building. Another initiative is Family Sunday, to which First Communicants, confirmands and their parents are invited. There is a separate catechesis for each age group. On a Sunday like this, you may have a hundred more churchgoers. And by involving the parents in the catechesis, you enable families to continue talking about their faith at home. That makes a big difference. When I have a confirmation after a series of family Sundays like this, I see that the church is fuller, that there are more young people and children present.
COMMUNIO: What can be done to ensure that these projects continue to have an impact and are sustainable?
Eijk: In the upcoming years, the Archdiocese of Utrecht will support the parishes in further developing their missionary commitment. In any case, it is important that catechesis continues after confirmation. We also encourage priests to form youth groups in the parishes. We also organize marriage preparation courses based on the Italian model, albeit still on a small scale. These courses last five evenings and we pray with the participants, which is new for many. During the course, we also discuss the theology of the body and the Church's teaching on contraception and natural birth control. The mostly young participants respond positively to this, especially as we now know more about the disadvantages of the contraceptive pill.COMMUNIO: Nevertheless, the number of churchgoers continues to fall. Do you also see signs of growth?
Eijk: In all parishes, we are seeing more and more young people asking for baptism or confirmation, people between 20 and 50, who appear out of nowhere, so to speak. These are not huge numbers, but it is a positive sign. Something is at work. This generation has no criteria for distinguishing between right and wrong. They have no fixed point in life and don not know what their purpose is. But these questions arise naturally. There is an openness to mystery in every human being. We also see positive signs in vocations to the priesthood and the diaconate. In the archdiocese, we have introduced a year of discernment called “Come and See” for men who are seeking their vocation. This fall, 12 people have signed up for it.
COMMUNIO: The last session of the church Synod is currently taking place in Rome. Pope Francis sees synodality as a means of promoting the missionary dynamism of the Church. How has the synodal process of the universal church been taken up in the Netherlands?
Eijk: We started the diocesan phase of the synodal process two years ago. We organized conversations on faith with as many participants as possible: parishioners, but also people from the world of education and scouts, for example. It was important to us that these were prayerful conversations, not controversial discussions. People should be able to express themselves freely without others reacting directly. Many participants found this an enriching experience.
COMMUNIO: What topics came up in these discussions?
Eijk: People, young and old, emphasized that we need good liturgical celebrations and catechesis. It was also said that we need to be more missionary. In some parishes, these discussions continued afterwards. People said: We always talk about the closure of a church or the merger of a parish and actually far too little about faith.
COMMUNIO: There is an increasing polarization on certain issues in the universal church. Just think of the completely opposite reactions to the Vatican's decision on the blessing of homosexual couples. Why do the demands for reform within the church so often have to do with gender, sexuality, and marriage?
Eijk: I think that is quite understandable. When you talk about the resurrection, people may or may not believe in it, but they don't get emotional about it. But sexuality touches our personal lives, because we are all sexual beings. So when you talk about norms around marriage and sexuality, people can get very emotional about it. People who are homosexual experience what we say as discrimination. But we believe it is our job to speak the truth, even if it is difficult. And when you present real arguments, people are open to it; they can see that there is a fundamental vision behind it. Within the Catholic Church in the Netherlands, however, this is no longer such a sensitive issue. When my book on sexual ethics was published in 2022, it hardly caused a stir in the Netherlands. That would have been different 20 or 30 years ago. But the atmosphere has changed a lot in the meantime. The polarization you are talking about no longer exists here.
COMMUNIO: Pope Francis recently visited Belgium and faced strong headwinds there. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo described the Pope's statements on abortion as “unacceptable” and even summoned the apostolic nuncio. How do you explain this sharp reaction?
Eijk: It's because polarization is still very pronounced in Belgium. In the Netherlands, it has largely disappeared since 2000. When Pope John Paul II visited the Netherlands in 1985, there were many protests. That was the height of polarization in our country. Back then, Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers criticized the Pope in a speech. That would be completely different today. I can't imagine that Prime Minister Rutte or the new Prime Minister Schoof would have done that. The Church in the Netherlands is very marginalized, a small minority. What it says or what it believes no longer triggers so many feelings in people. Sometimes, I think: in other countries they are now going through what we left behind decades ago, simply because things have developed faster here.
COMMUNIO: In Germany, it is sometimes said that the church can only win people back once the “reform backlog” has been overcome. What do you think of this?
Eijk: You can learn from the church in the Netherlands that this is a mistake. If you create confusion, you alienate people from the church. You will not bring anyone back that way. I would like to say to the bishops of other countries: don't make this mistake, don't make our mistake. In parishes where the faith is well proclaimed and the liturgy is celebrated with dignity, the churches are full. It's about putting Christ at the center. When people have discovered Christ and understand the Holy Scriptures better, they will also understand the teachings of the Church better.
COMMUNIO: The Netherlands was once considered the avant-garde of the Catholic Church. The Pastoral Council of the Dutch Church Province met from 1966 to 1970. Do you see any similarities with the German Synodal Way?
Eijk: Yes, the similarities are obvious. The Pastoral Council began with great enthusiasm, but eventually the discussions petered out and the participants grew tired. There were also exaggerated expectations at the time, for example regarding the abolition of celibacy. Pope Paul VI tried to intervene here. The Pope demanded that the vote on the abolition of celibacy should not take place, but Cardinal Alfrink ignored this. There were only two votes against in the vote. And yet nothing came of it.
COMMUNIO: Some say that certain issues, such as the admission of women to the sacrament of Holy Orders, should be resolved at regional level. What do you say to that?
Eijk: The word “synod” comes from the Greek “syn”, together, and “hodos”, way. We must walk a common path and not deviate from the universal church. The Pope emphasized this in 2019 in his “Letter to the Pilgrim People of God in Germany.” If unity in proclamation is lost, the Church loses its credibility. In the Netherlands, we have had some very bad experiences with creating ambiguity and confusion over the past 50 years. People had the impression that the church itself didn't really know what to do.
COMMUNIO: At the Synod of Bishops, controversial topics were assigned to working groups. How do you assess this?
Eijk: The votes at last year's assembly already showed that the majority of participants were not at all enthusiastic about topics such as gender or the ordination of women. We have to bear in mind that Europe is only a small - and shrinking - part of the global church. Moreover, not all people in Europe and North America think the same way on these issues.
COMMUNIO: What is very much on the agenda at the Synod, however, are issues such as the exercise of episcopal authority, transparency and accountability or the participation of the people of the church in church decisions.
Eijk: There is no lack of transparency in the Dutch church. For example, we have handled the issue of sexual abuse in an extremely transparent manner, with an independent complaints commission and very transparent procedures for the payment of compensation. The financial policy of the archdiocese is also completely transparent. We publish an abridged edition of each financial report, which also goes to the parishes. As far as participation in decision-making is concerned, I see possibilities, but also limits. In the Netherlands, very few people still want to have a say in the content of church doctrine. But of course people are involved in decisions. One example: When it comes to closing churches - because unfortunately we often have to do that - we leave it to the committee in the parish to draw up a building plan and make a proposal to the archbishop, because they know the situation on the ground. But such an approach doesn't always work. When we merged parishes in the archdiocese, that was a bishop's decision. If you let the people have a final say in it, you will never achieve your goal.
COMMUNIO: How successful has the experiment of a society without God been in the Netherlands so far?
Eijk: For me, secularization means that the human person is no longer the focus and the state is increasingly making decisions about fundamental rights. Where previously the idea prevailed that man was created in God's image and therefore has inalienable rights, the state is now taking over this role. One example of this is the legalization and widespread use of abortion. Life seems to have become less valuable. The number of euthanasia cases is rising rapidly, from 1,500 in 1991 to possibly 10,000 this year. Almost 40 percent of marriages end in divorce, which is often a huge emotional burden for those involved and their children. There are also attempts to expand embryo research and change legislation to allow children as young as 16 to determine their own gender in their passports. These changes are often driven by strong international pressure, for example from the UN and the World Health Organization. For example, programs on sex education and gender roles are already being introduced in elementary school. These social changes have far-reaching consequences. Increasing individualism leads to loneliness, especially among older people. Many young people also feel disoriented and have psychological problems that are often due to a lack of values. The social experiment of establishing an ethical order without God will end in bankruptcy in the long term.
COMMUNIO: Is there also something positive about secularization?
Eijk: When I was young, many people went to church, but I think many did so thoughtlessly. They belonged to the church for sociological reasons. They went to Catholic kindergarten, Catholic elementary school, Catholic high school, Catholic scouts, Catholic fraternities. You stayed in the Catholic milieu. That was where you found your connection. When individualization began in the 1960s and people no longer wanted to belong to a community, there was a lack of connection to the Church in terms of content. People often had no personal relationship with Christ and knew nothing about personal prayer. When people come to church today, they do so out of a conscious decision. Even those who get married in church today usually do so out of conviction. It's about your own decision. It's not like forty years ago when grandpa or grandma said: you have to get married in church. No, they do it out of their own initiative and in accordance with their own convictions. And then it is often the case that other people ask them: Why are you doing this at all? Not in a hostile or contrioversial way, but because they really want to know.
