However, it was not only the Anglican Churches and British government officials that the Catholic Church began to feel pressure from. The Catholic Church was also struggling with internal problems. The Catholic Church had been suffering from a shortage of priests and vocations, and there was a poor quality of theoretical training, and that the priests were being sent out to young and unprepared for the parishes. The Catholic Church needed help but was unable to receive it. The Catholic Church asked for more priests to be sent from France, however they were denied because they might provide the Canadiens with their origins and in return meddle into political affairs. Till this point the Catholic Church remained neutral in the affairs of the government, it was crucial to remain in good relations with the government. In order to do so they needed not make any obvious political backings. With the professional class some were already straying from the Catholic Church. The threat that assimilation created was also very close to the Catholic Church. It was seen that assimilation was possible if the Catholic Church was subverted. Most attempts by officials to start an assimilation, resulted in views or programs of Anglicanization. However, all attempts were useless and the Catholic Church survived. In the last decade of the eighteenth century and the first decade of the nineteenth century, we see the development of French Canadian nationalism. It was the implementation of the British Parliamentary system ,and the Canadiens refusal to passively sit back and embrace assimilation that sparked this nationalism. The nationalism was also a product of the emerging professional class, which went on to dominant the assembly and bring the complexity of the British Constitution to a level which could be understood by all Canadiens. The political, social...
