Charlotte priests urge bishop to reconsider decision to end traditional Latin Mass in parishes
May 28, 2025
The pastors of the four parishes where the traditional Latin Mass is celebrated in the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, have asked Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv, to reconsider his plans to end the celebration of the extraordinary form in parishes.
“It is important to acknowledge that those attached to the traditional liturgy have, over the past five decades, often felt marginalized and discriminated against,” the priests wrote in their letter, released on May 27 but written before the bishop promulgated his decree on the implementation of Pope Francis’s motu proprio Traditionis Custodes. “Consequently, their trust in Church leadership has, understandably, been weakened over time.”
“A significant aspect of our ministry involves reconciliation and accompaniment for those who have felt unwelcome,” the four pastors continued. “We fear a reversal in policy will negatively impact the good will built up over the years.”
The priests added:
We further request that you become more acquainted with our Latin Mass communities, to better understand their desires, challenges, and pastoral needs. We are confident that you will recognize in these parishioners faithful sons and daughters of the Church who simply wish to live in peace with access to the traditional liturgy in their own parishes.
Having listened to the pastors and their parishioners, we trust you will be confident in the legitimacy of requesting an extension from the Holy See. Should the Holy See deny such a request, we would hope to provide for the needs of these faithful to the best of our ability.
The priests’ letter appeared on the website of Faithful Advocate, which describes itself as “a group of the Faithful working in consultation with Canon lawyers to advocate for the religious rights of Catholics living in the Diocese of Charlotte.” The organization encourages the faithful to take part in a canonical process to overturn the bishop’s decree.
In ending the celebration of the extraordinary form in the four western North Carolina parishes on July 8—three months before the expiration of the permission obtained from the Vatican by his predecessor—Bishop Martin announced that the diocese would spend $700,000 to convert a former Protestant church into a Catholic chapel where the traditional Latin Mass will be celebrated.
In addition to his decision on the celebration of the extraordinary form, The Pillar reported that
further, according to sources in the Charlotte diocese, [Bishop] Martin is currently at work on an instruction due to be published in the months to come, which would restrict the use of Latin in the liturgy, seemingly prohibit the ad orientem celebration of the Mass, and eliminate the use of altar rails and prie-dieus for the reception of the Eucharist, among other possible restrictions under consideration.
In 2012, the future Bishop Martin, while a chaplain at Duke University, directed the laity there to stand during the Eucharistic Prayer and other times during the Mass when the faithful typically kneel. In doing so, he cited a desire for uniformity in posture and a lack of kneelers at all of the worship sites at the university.
At the time, he also directed that “we will stand for the reception of communion, stand while others are receiving the Eucharist, and then the congregation will sit as one immediately after the last person receives from the chalice” (Word doc).
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