Bp. Michael Martin created controversy by suppressing the Traditional Latin Mass and now has welcomed a priest who faithful Catholics have pointed out undermines the faith.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (LifeSiteNews) — The bishop of Charlotte, who recently severely suppressed the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), invited a popular heterodox influencer priest to “evangelize” his diocese.
Just before Bishop Michael Martin’s crackdown on the TLM, Catholic News Herald shared that Father Casey Cole, OFM, along with two fellow Franciscans, would be moving to Charlotte to evangelize young adults “outside traditional Church settings.”
Cole, who has amassed a large social media following over the course of his decade-long online teaching ministry, is frequently praised by Catholics and non-Catholics alike for his skillful apologetics and has even been credited by a number of people for their conversion to Catholicism.
However, Cole has also drawn criticism from orthodox Catholics like apologist Trent Horn and author Kennedy Hall for at times portraying the faith in a misleading or confusing way, even giving the impression that certain moral teachings are not clear cut and often contradicting himself as he does so.
For example, he has defended divorce in certain circumstances, claiming in a video that “Catholics allow divorce in certain situations,” that it “is sometimes the advisable thing” and that “in certain cases the Catechism even says that it’s permissible.” Rather, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death,” and that the separation of spouses – not divorce – is permitted “in certain cases provided for by canon law.”
Cole has downplayed the importance of sacramental confession, saying that it is not “technically” necessary. “Is it necessary to confess your sins to a priest? Technically, no. But you still probably should,” Cole said in a March video.
In April, he discouraged the practice of going to confession before Mass. While he acknowledged that this is necessary when one is in mortal sin, he called the practice of otherwise doing so “bad Eucharistic theology,” because it isn’t necessary when one has only venial sins. According to Cole, the practice of going to confession in order to purify oneself from venial sins before receiving our Lord makes the Eucharist a “prize for the perfect.”
“You don’t need to go to confession before Mass,” Cole wrote as a caption to his Instagram video post.
The Franciscan priest has also been seen as undermining Church teaching by claiming that Scripture “make(s) any definitive statement about homosexuality difficult to make,” and that, “According to the prophet Ezekiel, the reason Sodom was destroyed had nothing to do with sexual misconduct or faith but everything to do with greed and injustice.”
This declaration prompted Horn to respond with a rebuttal video explaining why Cole is “wrong about the Bible and homosexuality.” Horn pointed out that the Catholic Church has clearly and definitively prohibited homosexuality as gravely immoral, with several Scripture passages as support. For example, Horn noted that Ezekiel said of the men of Sodom, “They committed abomination before me.” The same word “abomination” is used to describe homosexual acts in Leviticus 20:13, Horn pointed out.
Cole has also claimed that one does not “have to be religious,” let alone Catholic, “to lead a good life,” while answering questions from atheists.
“Do you have to be religious to live a good life? No, not at all,” Cole said in a video posted last year on his YouTube channel, “Breaking in the Habit.”
“There’s something inherent in our world that tells us that murder is bad and generosity is good,” said the friar, stunningly giving no further context to point out that many grave sins are currently overwhelmingly practiced by non-Christians, including fornication, contraception, divorce and adultery, and pornography, to say nothing of other common sins like abortion and detraction.
The Franciscan priest has taken a stance on purity that could be dangerous for unmarried couples, claiming in a video that while certain things, like sex before marriage, are “always inappropriate, most things are a bit more relative.” As an example, he said that for some people, “sitting on the couch and falling asleep in each other’s arms while watching a movie could be entirely wholesome.”
Cole has additionally shared that he “almost never” prays the rosary, and in his now-deleted X account, he indicated he would never offer the Traditional Latin Mass, as traditional commentator John “the Son of Thunder” has documented in a YouTube video.
John pointed out that members of Cole’s religious order, the Franciscan Friars of the Holy Name, have offered “pride” Masses in honor of homosexuals.
A member of the diocese of Charlotte known to LifeSiteNews believes Bishop Martin’s welcoming of Cole to the diocese, just as he cracks down on the Traditional Latin Mass, helps to paint the “bigger picture” of the bishop’s agenda.
“The diocese is being reworked into the theological vision of the bishop,” the parishioner remarked.
