A Better Way, by Eric Sammons

By Eric Sammons, Crisis Magazine, July 23, 2021

Eric Sammons is the editor-in-chief of Crisis Magazine. His most recent book Deadly Indifference (May 2021) examines the rise of religious indifference and how it has led the Church to lose her missionary zeal.

Like the Church in most Western countries, the Catholic Church in Germany is in deep trouble. Last year 221,390 Germans renounced their membership in the Catholic Church, and in the past three years more than 700,000 people have exited. Other statistics are just as grim: fewer Baptisms, fewer First Communions, fewer Confirmations, fewer Catholic weddings, and fewer parishes. The only statistic rising is the number of Catholic funerals. The Catholic Church in Germany is literally dying.

In response, the president of the German bishops’ conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, said the declining numbers reflect that “many have lost confidence” in the Church. …

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