Has God Stopped Tugging at People's Hearts? The Issue of Church Numbers

It's yet to be seen what effect Pope Leo XIV will have on the Church in terms of numbers. But in terms of trends, there have been interesting things to note.
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There's been an increase in the Catholic population in Ontario, Canada, but it's been fueled by migration. More immigrants are coming in from Catholic populations.

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In the UK the Catholic Gen Z population is on the rise.
"A new study from the United Kingdom has found that among members of Gen Z in the U.K., Catholics now outnumber Anglicans 2 to 1 — part of a pattern observed across all age groups whereby participation in Catholicism has risen in recent years while Anglicanism has declined."

Then France:
Adult baptisms in France are also up.
"France’s Catholic Church will welcome more than 10,384 adult catechumens at Easter this year, marking a 45% increase from 2024 figures, according to data released by the French Bishops’ Conference. The French report reveals the highest numbers ever recorded since the survey began over 20 years ago. Even more striking is the demographic shift — young adults now constitute the largest segment of converts."

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As a Christian, it's always nice and encouraging to see people discover the faith in a meaningful way. Although you have to ask if we have lost the plot? Why does it matter that we gain numbers? For one, if you lose numbers, then you become a cultural and political target. But let's say that doesn't matter.    Another piece of the issue is whether declining interest means that God is no longer calling people or tugging at the hearts of people. We're all still human, and the internal desire that pulled people toward the search for God should still structurally be in place? So why aren't more people searching, not just for spirituality, but for Christ?

It does seem, though, that conversions to Catholicism and Orthodoxy in the US are tracking with the rise of conservatism and traditionalism among young men. So the factors inspiring growth aside from immigration, to a large part, are cultural. But beyond cultural factors, where are all the people (of the 9 billion in this world) who are searching for Christ?

There is the so-called Benedict Option, the idea that the ideal may be to let the Church resize itself around a smaller core of pure believers, rather than be behemothy all things to all people. The problem is that this is not possible at all in the Roman Catholic Church. For a Church of 1 billion people, with assets worth billions, and real political and ecclesial power, no one in power wants fewer people. It's very, very difficult to give up power and the adulation of literally millions of people on a regular basis.

The Church will never voluntarily re-size, meaning the Benedict Option is not a remote possibility, which means the Church will remain a massive entity with organic internal growth and factors like immigration and cultural trends to spur it forward in terms of size.

But maybe the question is not if we're growing or how we can grow? But if people aren't flocking to our light, then perhaps that light has dimmed to a flicker, and we no longer reflect the Christ we claim to serve.