Opening of the Pastoral Year 2025-2026 Recently a parishioner asked me: "Father why do we have so many groups in the parish? Shouldn’t we focus on just coming to Mass?" He felt that a lot of energy and attention was placed on putting Christian values into practice at the cost of spirituality. It was a fair comment that helped me to reflect on the added value of the church in Dutch secular society. Secular does not mean that people do not care for their neighbour, the homeless or the less fortunate. In fact, there are many wonderful groups and initiatives that practice charity, so why should the  church also jump onto this bandwagon? Would it not be better to invest in something that the secular world does not provide, and choose Liturgy and Evangelization as our main priority? Young people who return to the church in Western Europe tend to seek aesthetics, tradition, spirituality and sacraments. This trend became clear in the increase in adult baptisms and marriages during the last year. This hopeful and humble revival also offers the opportunity for re-investing in social justice. The beauty of the church also comes through in the fact that she invests in quality of life, especially for those who are deprived of that. Pope Leo XIV, our current pontiff,  pointed out at the beginning of his new ministry that he chose his name Leo, to continue the legacy of Pope Leo XIII, who was the founder of modern Catholic social teaching defending fair treatment of workers at the onset of industrialization. Pope Leo XIV, appreciates tradition, aesthetics, spirituality and connects this to the church’s role in modern society in defending human dignity, justice, labour and how to use artificial intelligence in a responsible way. Coming back to the question – Why do we have...