Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk, Archbishop of Utrecht (Netherlands), warned about misdirected reform efforts within the Catholic Church, warning that regional solutions to controversial issues could undermine the Church’s credibility.
The cardinal emphasized the importance of maintaining unity with the universal Church.
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“We must walk a common path and not deviate from the global Church,” he maintained, reflecting the 2019 letter from Pope Francis to German Catholics.
Offering a discouraging perspective from a heavily secularized nation, the Dutch cardinal drew parallels between the current Synodality Synod in Rome and the Dutch Pastoral Council of the late 1960s, in an interview with the German language magazine Communion.
The 71-year-old archbishop warned that regional solutions to contentious issues could undermine the credibility of the Church. “If unity in proclamation is lost, the Church loses its credibility,” he said, highlighting the Netherlands’ negative experience with ambiguity over the past 50 years.
He added: “People had the impression that the Church itself didn’t really know where it was.”
Less traction for the supposed “delay” in reforms
Reflecting on the ongoing Synodality Synod, Cardinal Eijk indicated that controversial issues, such as gender and the ordination of women, have had less traction than some anticipated.
“Votes at last year’s assembly showed that most participants were not enthusiastic about issues like gender or the ordination of women,” she said.
The Dutch cardinal also challenged the idea that addressing a “backlog of reforms” would bring people back to the Church.
“You can learn from the Church in the Netherlands that this is a mistake. Those who create confusion alienate people from the Church. “You’re not going to bring anyone back this way,” he said.
Instead, Cardinal Eijk advocated a Christ-centered approach and solid catechesis.
“It’s about putting Christ at the center. In parishes where the faith is proclaimed well and the liturgy is celebrated with dignity, the churches are full,” he observed.
He also addressed the participation of lay people in Church decision-making, recognizing its importance, but recognizing limits.
“Of course, people participate in the decisions,” he said, citing examples of input at the parish level. However, he cautioned that this approach “does not always work,” particularly with major structural changes.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.
Anian Christoph Wimmer
Anian Christoph Wimmer, a multilingual Australian with Bavarian roots, is the editor-in-chief of CNA Deutsch. He held senior positions at Australia’s SBS and was editor-in-chief of the historic Münchner Kirchenzeitung. Graduated in Philosophy and Chinese Studies from the University of Melbourne, Anian Christoph Wimmer was on the jury for the Catholic Media Prize of the German Bishops’ Conference and was an honorary researcher in Communications at the University of Melbourne. He has served on the Board of Directors of Caritas in Munich.