Netherlands: Catholics Don’t Come Back After Covid-Lockdowns
After one year of Church lockdown, parish life in the Netherlands is coming to a standstill. 21 priests from seven Dutch dioceses told Kn.nl that the “very [few] loyal churchgoers” have remained despite …More
After one year of Church lockdown, parish life in the Netherlands is coming to a standstill.
21 priests from seven Dutch dioceses told Kn.nl that the “very [few] loyal churchgoers” have remained despite the lockdowns but those who have less of a bond with the Church are gone, “The same goes for families and children.”
A priest from Groningen-Leeuwarden Diocese said that nearly all catechetic activity, like preparing classes for First Communion or Confirmation, have ceased in his parish.
Some priests explained that people more easily skip a funeral Mass and take their deceased straight to a crematorium where they are allowed to gather for a cup of coffee after the “ceremony.”
One priest summed up, “People who previously would have come to church, now don’t.” A big part of the Catholics in the Netherlands are foreigners.
Picture: © Mazur/cbcew.org.uk, CC BY-NC-ND, #newsHmgsucrwrm
21 priests from seven Dutch dioceses told Kn.nl that the “very [few] loyal churchgoers” have remained despite the lockdowns but those who have less of a bond with the Church are gone, “The same goes for families and children.”
A priest from Groningen-Leeuwarden Diocese said that nearly all catechetic activity, like preparing classes for First Communion or Confirmation, have ceased in his parish.
Some priests explained that people more easily skip a funeral Mass and take their deceased straight to a crematorium where they are allowed to gather for a cup of coffee after the “ceremony.”
One priest summed up, “People who previously would have come to church, now don’t.” A big part of the Catholics in the Netherlands are foreigners.
Picture: © Mazur/cbcew.org.uk, CC BY-NC-ND, #newsHmgsucrwrm
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...and those few "loyal churchgoers" are still getting actively discouraged with limited attendance quotas, "social distancing," masks, and God knows what else.