A Dutch Catholic bishop has urged Pope Leo XIV to provide clear leadership on Church teaching, warning that Christianity risks losing its purpose if it simply reflects the values of wider society.
Bishop Robert Mutsaerts, an auxiliary bishop in the Netherlands, made the appeal in an open letter to the Pope in which he questioned the impact of years of dialogue and “synodality” within the Catholic Church.
Addressing Leo as the successor of Saint Peter, Mutsaerts argued that the papacy carried a responsibility not only to unite Christians but also to strengthen them in their faith.
“Ultimately, the world gains little from a Church that merely repeats what the world itself already thinks,” he wrote.
Mutsaerts questioned whether recent processes within the Church had produced tangible improvements in Christian life and mission.
“Not: How many reports were written? Not: How many people participated? But: Has faith become stronger? Has Christ been proclaimed more clearly? Has Catholic identity deepened? Have more people come to convert? Is Sunday Mass better attended? Are there more priestly vocations? ... Has greater reverence for the Eucharist emerged? Has the moral teaching of the Church become clearer? Has missionary courage increased?”
The bishop also argued that the Church's primary purpose was not to affirm prevailing attitudes but to proclaim the Christian message of repentance and faith.
“The Church does not exist primarily to affirm people in what they already are,” he said.
“The first words of Jesus' public preaching are not: 'Tell Me first how you feel about the current church structures.' But: 'Repent and believe in the Good News.' That is considerably less bureaucratic. And considerably more radical.”
Mutsaerts warned that institutions could become increasingly focused on their own processes when they lose sight of their original mission.
“The less evangelization, the more committees about evangelization. The fewer vocations, the more documents about vocations. The fewer people come to church, the longer the meetings about becoming the church.”
“That sounds cynical, but there is a serious thought behind it: Bureaucracy can create the illusion of activity while reality shows the opposite. One is navigating without a compass.”
The intervention comes amid continuing debate within Catholicism over issues including the traditional Latin Mass, declining church attendance in Western countries and the Church's response to changing social attitudes.
Mutsaerts' superior, Bishop Gerard Johannes Nicolaus de Korte, has distanced himself from the open letter.
The debate also comes as Catholics wait to see how Pope Leo will approach some of the issues inherited from his predecessor, Pope Francis.
Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, recently suggested there could be further developments over Traditionis Custodes, Francis' 2021 restrictions on celebrations of the traditional Latin Mass.
“I'm not sure that we've heard the last word from this pontificate on 'Traditionis Custodes,'” Coakley said.
“Until Pope Leo has spoken, I'm not sure that we know for sure what the way forward will be.”
Additional reporting from USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
