The Gateway Pundit reported on the efforts by Bishop Michael Martin to cancel all but one of the Traditional Latin Masses (TLM) in the Diocese of Charlotte in North Carolina.
After widespread media coverage by TGP and others, and outrage from parishioners and Catholics worldwide, Bishop Martin has announced a decision to “pause” his efforts to suppress TLM until the Vatican’s October deadline, instead of the July 8 deadline he proposed.
Bishop Martin has now accepted a request from four parish priests, who sent a letter expressing concerns over the changes, to wait until the Vatican’s October 2nd to implement any changes.
The letter which four priests of the Diocese of Charlotte sent to their bishop before his draconian restrictions on the TLM, urging him to change course.
(from the Charlotte Latin Mass Community page on Facebook) pic.twitter.com/fFG432P0EU— Matthew Hazell (@M_P_Hazell) May 27, 2025
Per Catholic News Herald:
Changes to Traditional Latin Mass offerings in the Diocese of Charlotte will take effect Oct. 2 to align with a deadline mandated by the Vatican – not July 8 as previously planned, Bishop Michael Martin announced Tuesday.
The new date allows more time for the transition and for renovation of a chapel designated for the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) community, Bishop Martin said in an email to priests Tuesday.
The move is the final phase of the diocese’s gradual implementation of Pope Francis’ 2021 instruction, Traditionis Custodes, which prescribes limits on the Traditional Latin Mass in dioceses around the world but allows bishops to set up alternate worship sites.
The diocese is setting aside a chapel in Mooresville for celebration of the TLM, which averages approximately 1,100 regular attendees each week. They currently worship at four diocesan churches using the older form of the Mass, which uses prayers and a calendar predating the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
Catholic scholar Dr. Peter Kwasniewski shared the disturbing document, titled “Traditionis Custodes Implementation in the Diocese of Charlotte 2025: Responses to Concerns,” which Bishop Martin sent to parish priests to provide talking points to gaslight those who dare push against his efforts.
Charlotte Bishop Preps priests to answer questions on why the TLM is being taken away. pic.twitter.com/wwiDjyiga0
— Chris Jackson (@BigModernism) May 26, 2025
Martin has tried to quell the uproar by suggesting the leaked document was only “an early draft”.
Rorate Caeli published the letter on May 28, which includes Martin condemning additional Catholic traditions, including:
- The use of Latin
- Priests praying before and after Mass
- Reverence by the faithful to kneel for Holy Communion
- Ornate vestments
- The use of any traditional acts of reverence by priests in cleansing the sacred vessels, saying this “misses an authentic understanding of the accidents and substance of the Eucharist.”
Read the full “draft” letter here.
Dr. Kwasniewski joined Raymond Arroyo on ‘The World Overspoke’ to discuss the decision by Martin to strip Catholics of a beautiful and sacred celebration.
The October deadline will be a test for Pope LeoXIV, and a message to Catholics across the world, on whether he will continue to pursue Pope Francis’ globalist efforts to push the Chuch to the left, or if he will be a Pope who can lead the Church’s faithful.
Critics have suggested that Martin’s calculated move was enacted ahead of the Vatican’s October deadline to preempt Pope Leo XIV, who may choose to approach TLM differently than Pope Francis.
Pope Francis’ 2021 apostolic letter, TRADITIONIS CUSTODES, called for limiting the TLM’s availability to non-parish churches and established Vatican oversight over associated permissions.
Read the full article here