News release from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops,
[Ottawa – CCCB] -Bishop Scott McCaig, CC, Bishop of the Military Ordinariate of Canada, has released a statement on the Canadian Armed Forces’ (CAF) Military Personnel Instructions on Spiritual Reflections in Military Settings, which was issued on 29 July 2026.
In his statement, Bishop McCaig objects to the new policy, which requires CAF members, including chaplains, to deliver spiritual reflections without words, actions, or symbols specific to a particular faith or spiritual tradition.
Under the new policy, “CAF members…shall uphold the principle of state religious and spiritual neutrality by not using words, actions, or symbols that are specific to a particular [spiritual or faith tradition] on the part of the Government of Canada.”
McCaig states that, for many people, “meaning, purpose, and spiritual wellbeing” cannot be separated from God. He argues that the new policy requires precisely such a separation and therefore conflicts with the Charter’s protection of the fundamental freedoms of conscience and religion.
As McCaig raises these concerns on behalf of the Catholic faithful entrusted to his pastoral care, the CCCB is studying the new policy and will continue to follow its implementation, particularly with regard to its implications for freedom of conscience and religion and for the place of religious expression within the Canadian Armed Forces.
The CCCB is encouraging the faithful and all people of goodwill to become informed about these developments and to “pray for the CAF, its members, chaplains, and families, as well as for Bishop McCaig in his pastoral ministry to Canada’s Catholic military community.”
Excerpt from Bishop Scott McCaig’s statement: “It is freedom of religion or non religion that the Charter protects, not freedom from selective faith traditions that one disagrees with. Are mature tolerance and dialogue no longer values worth defending and promoting? Open secularism means allowing diverse voices, something easily achieved in a diverse interfaith chaplaincy. It fosters the free expression of the rich diversity of spiritual beliefs in our country, and chaplains are trained to do so in a respectful manner. The instruction is neither neutral nor inclusive.”
The Military Ordinariate exists to care for the pastoral needs of men and women in the armed forces, including their families. It is staffed by military chaplains and has a residential bishop who serves as its head and is called a “Military Ordinary.” A Military Ordinariate is not limited by geography; it attaches to persons (or is “personal”) in that it exists wherever men and women in the armed forces of a particular nation are deployed. The norms which govern a Military Ordinariate are set out in the Apostolic Constitution of Pope John Paul II, Spirituali Militum Curae.
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