The current urgency in responding to refugee claimants provides an insight into the situation of the Church in Canada. Relying mainly on faith communities to create a culture of welcome for Vietnamese boat people in the 1970s, the Church in Canada responded with vigor and resources. But, as one observer commented, “When you look at what’s going on today, you see great faith. They’re involved, they’re committed, and they’re in their 70s.” The Catholic Church in Canada forty years ago was inspired by Vatican II and found direction in the bold, progressive leadership of an activist Social Justice Committee of the Canadian Catholic Conference of Bishops. What has changed is the disappearance of the 50 years old and younger Catholics from active Church life, along with the increasing invisibility of the Catholic hierarchy.

Pope Francis continues to awaken what Canadian Catholic philosopher C. Taylor calls the moral urgency and religious longing of many Catholics. But they have trouble locating the Pope’s spirit in their priests and bishops. Parish life in Canada tends to be static, renewal being pinned in many places to the building up of devotional practices and reassuring catecheses. Leadership is sorely missing.

Catholic institutions—like Catholic schools, hospitals, social service agencies—enjoy a high degree of freedom in Canada and are financed wholly or in part by government. They do not struggle to pay the bills, but neither do they offer “causes” that ignite a sense of Catholic identity, much less commitment.

Obscuring this reality is another reality. Canada has received a large influx of immigrant Catholics who fill some Churches to overflowing, while many others remain somewhat empty. Also, sky-rocketing housing prices in large urban areas have driven many young families to new suburban developments. The phenomenon observed in the Levittowns of the USA (some 6o years ago) can be seen repeating itself here. People in new communities seek some points of belonging which religion often provides. But is this a passing phenomenon?

What is the future of the Church in Canada? Pius XII on several occasions insisted on the need for a vibrant public opinion in the Church for its ability to witness to the Gospel. What will it take to make this happen, when the voices of Catholics who have been alienated or become indifferent or the aspirations of those who hope for a more evangelical parish and diocesan life have no forum? The few Catholic newspapers that still exist exclude dissident or critical viewpoints. There are no more Catholic intellectual journals here. Bishops and priests are doing little to foster dialogue in the Church, especially about what matters to its future.

It seems that little is being done to evangelize in the spirit modelled by Pope Francis. The fruits of Catholic education (Catholic schools educate almost all Catholic students in some parts of Canada) are, according the Cardus Educational Report/University of Notre Dame, practically indistinguishable from those of public schools in terms of religious commitment, social involvement, and moral values. There are virtually no programs that reach out to young adults in that “no man’s land” of age 20-35. The few theological faculties that still exist in Canada are experiencing declining enrollments. “Cui bono?”—it appears (this is a hunch) that young Catholics interested in academic careers or roles in the Church’s ministry see little reward in studying about God, faith, the Church and its doctrinal and communal tradition.

While Bishops from Quebec and the “rest” of Canada might speak about the bi-cultural situation of this country and its impact on religious belief and practice, this kind of conversation rarely is extended to include parishes. Quebec, of course, is Catholic, if only in the sense that the God they reject and/or pray to is the one we find in the New Testament and the symbols of the faith are what characterize the ecclesiastical architecture of that province. But the point to be made is this: when and how will the Bishops in Canada make/invite the Catholic people to participate in a conversation about their (the People of God’s) own future, the future of the Church?

The Church as a whole has the responsibility and “the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel.” This is not a “higher function” reserved to the hierarchy. The “who” in “who will read the signs of the times?” are the People of God. The future of the Church in Canada is in the hands of the people. If the Bishops continue to disregard this basic ecclesial reality, more Catholics will drift away, fewer people will be drawn to the Church, and (as we senior citizens die off) they’re will be fewer grey hairs ( or hairs of any colour) in the pews on Sundays.