While the priest shortage is an issue, I see the same dynamic at work here in the northeastern US where a cluster of 5-10 parishes has the same number of baptisms, weddings, and funerals as one parish had 50 years ago. The 96% closure might just be caused by a previous bishop refusing to officially close parishes that had in fact become empty museums anyway.
germany also has the ‘church tax’ issue. one checks off a box when filing one’s taxes in Germany and they subtract more for your church. It can be as little as a couple hundred or as much as a couple thousand.
many young people do not want the extra subraction, so they get kicked out of their church.