In an interview with the magazine"Communio" (online edition, Wednesday), the Archbishop of Utrecht said that the universal Church could learn from the Dutch Church's experience with liberal positioning, which has proven to be a mistake.
"Those who create confusion alienate people from the Church. You won't bring anyone back this way," said the cardinal.
Instead, the Church should focus on proclamation and liturgy in order to be fit for the future: "In parishes where the faith is well proclaimed and the liturgy is celebrated with dignity, the churches are full. It's about putting Christ at the centre. When people have discovered Christ and understand the Holy Scriptures better, they will also understand the teachings of the Church better."
The Netherlands is one of the most secularised countries in the world. More than half of the population consider themselves atheist or agnostic.
High hopes for reform processes have come to nothing
In a pastoral council from 1966 to 1970, the Catholic Church in the Netherlands discussed how the resolutions of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) could be implemented in the country.
Eijk sees great similarities between the current German reform process of the Synodal Path and the events in the Netherlands at the end of the 1960s. Then, as now, there were exaggerated expectations, for example regarding the abolition of mandatory celibacy for priests. Ultimately, however, nothing came of this, said the cardinal.
When dealing with reforms such as the question of admitting women to ordained ministries, Eijk opposed regional solutions: "We must follow a common path and not deviate from the universal church."
If unity in proclamation is lost, the Church will lose its credibility. In any case, the majority of participants in the Synod on Synodality, which is still meeting in Rome until the end of the month, are not enthusiastic about gender issues and the ordination of women.
"We have to bear in mind that Europe is only a small - and shrinking - part of the global church. Moreover, not all people in Europe and North America think the same way on these issues," said the cardinal.