Statement issued by the Military Ordinary of Canada on Spiritual Reflections in Military Settings
18 August 2026, Ottawa–The Most Rev. Scott McCaig, C.C., 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.”
Bishop 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.
The CCCB stands in solidarity with Bishop McCaig as he raises these concerns on behalf of the Catholic faithful entrusted to his pastoral care. The Conference 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. At this early stage, the CCCB encourages 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.
The full statement by the Military Ordinariate is available here.
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.
