I may be in a minority, but I actually believe that the Roman Catholic Church could play a constructive role in a number of important policy debates happening in Canada. Why then is it undermining its potential influence by mishandling the Residential Schools Settlement Agreement? As part of their involvement with this sad chapter in Canadian history, the church was required to provide three different payments: two in cash and one in kind. One commitment involved a $25-million fundraising effort by the church that met with little success, raising only $3.7 million. Having met the other two requirements, the government (either intentionally or by accident depending on whom you believe) legally released the church from its obligation to finish this effort. To make matters worse, as contributions from other faith communities were tied to the success of Catholic efforts, this resulted in even lower overall levels of financial support. The details are complicated, yet the church has done very little to explain its side. When the Globe and Mail first ran the story, church comment came from one of their lawyers who described the fundraising campaign as a “fiasco” and simply noted: “we did our best efforts.” The Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs recently noted that since the story broke, they had not heard directly from Catholic leaders. Although Saskatoon's Roman Catholic bishop publicly admitted that the church had a “moral obligation” to pay the full amount, Alberta-based Archbishop Gerard Pettipas, one of the Catholic leaders involved with the deal, characterized the whole matter as a failed fundraising campaign. In an interview with The Catholic Register, he spent considerable time countering accusations that the church used “legal trickery” to avoid its obligations. Ironically, it took the noted Catholic commentator Michael Higgins, in a Globe and Mail column critical of the church's move, to actually provide some balance. He explained that the agreement is actually with 50 Catholic entities — not some monolithic church — pointing out that the Catholic church is not a “national church in the same way its Anglican and United Church equivalents are,” and does not have an easily accessible pot of money. He also acknowledged the many efforts by Catholic “orders and congregations” to work toward reconciliation with our Indigenous peoples. I get it. Raising money for this cause has been difficult. Although some effort was made to ask regular church-goers for a contribution, it met with minimal success. But this all raises a different question. To what extent is this lack of interest because the Catholic leadership failed to make it a priority? The fundraising campaign was supposed to last seven years. Perhaps the first step was to take some time to educate and engage Catholics; to speak about the challenges and struggles of our Indigenous Peoples; and the link between these struggles and the network of residential schools with which the church was so closely associated. Maybe the church needed to make Indigenous issues one of the central areas of its work and help its membership understand that justice and reconciliation is what the Catholic faith is all about — and reinforce this message over and over again. Imagine if they had spent even a fraction of the time on Indigenous issues as they do on abortion. Efforts to collect the money and build bridges might have met with better success. It's not too late. The Catholic Church in Canada has a proud history of taking on causes and challenging our political leaders on issues ranging from nuclear disarmament to issues of poverty and unemployment. It was the Canadian bishops who garnered international attention in 1983 with their famous report entitled “Ethical Reflections on the Economic Crisis,” challenging the Trudeau government's focus on fighting inflation at the expense of jobs. The list of pressing issues facing our nation are in some ways ready made for thoughtful commentary from the Catholic Church. On climate change, they have the opportunity to build upon the profound work of Pope Francis. They can also further his message on poverty and income inequality. And, as our nation grapples with a law around access to physician-assisted dying, faith groups like the Catholic Church can provide an important perspective on the sacredness of life in even the most difficult circumstances. Times have changed and it will require considerable effort for the church to regain the type of voice it had years ago. It will be next to impossible, however, if they fail to address the issue of the residential schools settlement. At stake are not only the needs of our Indigenous peoples, but the Catholic Church's ability to be a force of any kind within our changing world. The Canadian Catholic Church in all its forms needs to act now — not only its leaders, but its membership as well.   John Milloy is a former MPP and Ontario cabinet minister currently serving as the co-director of the Centre for Public Ethics and assistant professor of public ethics at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, and the inaugural practitioner in residence in Wilfrid Laurier University's Political Science department. He is also a lecturer in the University of Waterloo's Master of Public Service Program. Milloy is the editor of, and a contributor to, Faith and Politics Matters (Novalis, 2015).