Of the Netherlands, the New York Times states: “The number of priests leaving the ministry is five times what it was in 1965.” For 1968 in that country the following figures were given:

Priests who left ministry 196

Priests who died 189

Total— 385

New priests ordained 145

1968 Deficit— 240

According to the Catholic source Herder Correspondence, “where figures are available, they are alarming.” In the Netherlands diocese of Haarlem, “Vicar-Monsignor” H. Juipers says: “In 1968, 46 priests in our diocese left the profession. . . . In the same year only two priests were ordained.”

Ordinations for the priesthood in the Netherlands decreased 36 percent in just the last two years.

From the Netherlands De Stem relates: “Church attendance in the Netherlands is decreasing, not only with the Roman Catholics but also with the Protestants.” The Catholic parish of Zeist gives this typical report:

Year Attendance

1965 1,639

1966 1,426

1967 1,208

1968 983

1969 832

An article by Catholic priest Joost Reuten in Limburgs Dagblad of the Netherlands was headlined: “Last Moment of the Church Has Arrived.” He said:

“I really mean it that the very last moment for the church in the Netherlands has arrived. I have two reasons for this: First, no new generation of ministers is forthcoming, and second, the group in the 18 to 35 years bracket falls away from the church.”