Limburg (dpa / lhe) - The decline in membership in the Catholic Church in the diocese of Limburg has accelerated in the past year. At the end of 2021, a total of 560,777 Catholics lived in the diocese, 18,910 fewer than at the end of the previous year, as the diocese announced on Monday. 11,686 people left the church - after around 8,200 in the previous year. The Limburg bishop and chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Georg Bätzing, was dismayed by the development: "There is nothing to sugarcoat and I am deeply shocked by the extremely high number of people leaving the church," he explained. The Catholic Church is in a deep crisis, which also affects the Diocese of Limburg.
It should be noted that not only people who had lost contact with the church over a longer period of time are now leaving, but also those who have previously been involved, as can be seen from the numerous responses. "The departure that we are taking with the synodal path has apparently not yet arrived here in communication with believers. Overall, this dramatic number shows that we as the Catholic Church can no longer take things for granted. We have to explain ourselves anew, explain what we do and why we do it," explained Bätzing. It is also not a matter of course to belong to the church and certainly not to actively participate in it.
On the one hand, the statistics are significantly influenced by the corona pandemic, which has affected church life. One reason for the high number of people leaving is also the many scandals that exist within the church and for which one is responsible "to a considerable extent".
You shouldn't distort the numbers leaving, but you have to say goodbye to the idea that the churches will fill up again or that the number of believers will increase again. "Nevertheless, I am convinced that the message of the gospel has power that we can develop and translate into life with everyone who belongs to the church," says Bätzing. The diocese of Limburg covers parts of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate.
