The more time passes, the more we see empty churches around Malta and Gozo. Are the traditional churchgoers disenchanted with the conservatism that still seems to pervade the Church?

Our parish churches might have the finest choirs and most beautiful buildings around. And, yet, one is hard-pressed to hear the preaching of the Gospel. Such churches may indeed be very wealthy, yet, they appear to be very poor. Aside from weddings and funerals and Christmas and Easter vigils, only a minority of churchgoers often attend religious services.

Of course, two years of pandemic disruption and the continuing revelation of past clerical sexual abuses did not help either. Over and above that, the religious landscape of our country continues to change at a rapid pace.

Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated share of the population, consisting of people who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular”, continues to increase. The changes under way in our religious landscape are broad-based.

The Christian share of the population is down and religious “nones” have grown across multiple demographic groups in all regions of the islands, among college graduates and those with lower levels of educational attainment.

In other words, it could be that the nation’s overall rate of religious attendance is declining not because Catholics are attending church less often but, rather, because there are now fewer Catholics as a share of the population.

Unfortunately, the number of young priests and vocations among the upcoming generations continues to dwindle. As it is, priests of the older generations heavily outnumber the young ones who can substitute for them in the long term. The problem is further compounded by the fact that many young and middle-aged congregations no longer feel that they can resonate with the uninspiring and stereotypical sermons and teachings that the old-school types of preachers boringly churn out from the pulpit.

Perhaps you, too, feel like that. Perhaps you grew up in that kind of church. It has been your home church as far back as you can remember but, with the passing of time, things have changed. You recite the Apostle’s Creed, sing the traditional songs, the offering is taken and you hear a reading of Scripture, done rather perfunctorily, but there is no life. The spirit has departed.

The glory of the Almighty is missing. Vast numbers of our churches, once vibrant and powerful, are now in survival mode; their pews are almost empty and their major concern is how to raise the budget.

When former churchgoers become completely disenchanted with the status quo, they usually drop out. They throw out the baby with the bath water. They give up on church. At least, that is what large numbers of people have done.

So, is there hope for our Church? Is it time for it to repent, to recognise its spiritual poverty, its nakedness and its failure to see the needs of others as well as itself?

Resurrecting it is going to be a challenge but not impossible. In years past, many people assumed there would always be enough men stepping forward to become priests. That assumption has not panned out.

Vast numbers of our churches, once vibrant and powerful, are now in survival mode- Mark Said

The Church cannot simply say that they are going to come. It has to go out and find them. While it needs to redouble its efforts to promote priestly vocations, it also needs to plan for a future with fewer priests. At the moment, even with a restricted number of clericals, the Church in Malta has a good number of them who are truly guiding beacons.

The remaining Maltese Catholic flock does not seem to be appreciating enough the gargantuan and selfless efforts being put in by our clergy in their endeavour to keep us from losing or selling our soul to the devil on the altar of idolatry and to recoup the lost sheep. No matter how the archdiocese reconfigures its parishes in the years ahead, it seems inevitable that priests’ workloads will increase considerably.

I go to mass in different parishes and I just see our priests working so hard. Today, for example, most priests are assigned to more than one parish. That means they are attending multiple parish meetings, maintaining multiple church buildings and celebrating multiple masses every weekend in multiple localities.

Moving forward, our Church leaders will have to realise that people who are engaging from home or other places will count just as much as those who are attending in a facility. Over the last years, so many things have shifted at home: work, shopping, food, fitness, school and (at least for a season) church.

Historically, the Church has bet almost everything on gathering people in a building. I believe that, in the future, the Church in Malta will have to focus less on gathering and much more on connecting.

Connecting people who are engaging from home both with the Church and with one another will become an essential skill for all church leaders. The time will come when coming to Christ will not necessarily mean coming to your church at a set location and at a set hour. Our Church will need to adopt a new strategy.

The Church in Malta will remain indispensable in much the same manner as the government is indispensable for ensuring and enhancing the well-being of its populace. In the meantime, however, it needs the New Evangelisation to take root in its archdiocese.

Mark Said is a lawyer.