An internal memo from the Diocese of Charlotte outlines plans to suppress Traditional Latin Masses, reject seminarians devoted to the old rite, and downplay faithful objections.
(LifeSiteNews) -- A leaked internal memo from the Diocese of Charlotte outlines how diocesan officials are to manage objections to the suppression and relocation of Traditional Latin Masses (TLM) within the diocese.
The memo, circulated on social media by Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, has not yet been acknowledged by diocesan officials. LifeSiteNews has reached out to the Diocese of Charlotte but has not yet received a response. However, LifeSite has been reliably informed that the memo is authentic.
Titled “Traditionis Custodes Implementation in the Diocese of Charlotte 2025: Responses to Concerns,” it provides priests with scripted replies to objections following the decision to relocate all diocesan TLMs to a former Protestant church in Mooresville.
The suppression was announced on Friday, May 23, 2025. Citing Traditionis Custodes, Bishop Michael T. Martin said that, from July 8, all four parish TLMs will be closed and merged into one location in Mooresville, North Carolina.
The 2,000-word briefing addresses concerns from the faithful, acknowledging that the suppression and relocation will be “painful for our faithful,” but that “Pope Francis knew that when he promulgated TC and still established limiting norms.”
“Listening and agreeing aren’t the same thing,” the memo states, adding that while “Bishop Martin cares deeply for everyone in western North Carolina,” there were no reasons to allow the status quo to continue.
“Asking for extensions when none are warranted only prolongs the pain and uncertainty,” it adds.
It claims that “a growing tide of TLM adherents who were denying the validity and the legitimacy of the liturgical reform” and justifies actions against all those who prefer the TLM on this basis.
READ: Charlotte bishop suppresses Latin Mass, citing Traditionis Custodes
The document also states that the diocese will not consider candidates for priesthood if they are overly attached to the TLM:
Any young man who is only or primarily interested in the celebration of the TLM is not nor has ever been a viable candidate for ordination to the transitional diaconate or priesthood in the Diocese of Charlotte.
The leak came as bishops and cardinals have expressed public concern over efforts to restrict the Traditional Latin Mass. Cardinal William Goh of Singapore recently said that bishops should not “discriminate” against those who prefer the TLM.
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco publicly supported Goh’s comments on X, and claimed that lifting restrictions on the TLM “would be grand, healing and unifying.”
The suppression comes as a blow to those hoping Leo XIV will lift such restrictions. The memo states that if Leo XIV issues a new motu proprio, Bishop Martin “will comply.”
This article will be updated in the event that LifeSiteNews receives a response from the diocese.
The memo is reproduced in full below.
Traditionis Custodes
Implementation in the Diocese of Charlotte 2025
Responses to Concerns
Bishop Martin isn't listening to us.
Listening and agreeing aren't the same thing. Since the publication of Summorum Pontificum (2007), the publication of Traditionis Custodes (2021), and more recently upon coming to Western North Carolina (2024), Bishop Martin has had numerous conversations with those who prefer the TLM and has read (and responded to) many letters written to him on this topic. Bishop Martin's agreement or disagreement with the norms established by the Church does not come into play when carrying out the directives of the Church as he is called to do as the local ordinary.
Bishop Martin doesn't understand how we feel.
Bishop Martin cares deeply for everyone in western North Carolina as is the mandate of every shepherd of the Church. He also feels for those who are saddened by the decision of the Roman Catholic Church to restore the limits on the TLM. He accepts that this is a time that will be difficult for some, and is working with local pastors to try to bring about healing where there is hurt, even though that will not mean a lifting of the Church imposed restrictions on the TLM. He prays that everyone will be open to the work of the Holy Spirit at this time and trust that even when we cannot see any good coming from this, God has the power to bring greater good from any hurt.
Why is this happening now?
Bishop Jugis began the implementation of TC in 2023, two years after Pope Francis called for the renewed limitations on the celebration of the TLM. Bishop Jugis [sic] first step reduced the celebration of the TLM from 6 locations to 4, and asked for a 2-year extension of time to manage the rest of the diocesan implementation. That 2-year extension is expiring and Bishop Martin is bringing the diocese into full compliance with the motu proprio.
Bishop Martin will be further restricting access to the TLM.
The restrictions are not in addition to what Traditionis Custodes called for. Rather, they are the completion of the implementation of the norms that were established by the Church in 2021. Bishop Martin is only implementing the restrictions to access to the TLM that the Church has recently (2021) declared. Bishop Martin's implementation plan is in complete accord with the new norms established in TC - nothing more and nothing less.
Implementation of TC will limit the possibility of people to celebrate the TLM.
That is correct and is clearly what was intended by Pope Francis in issuing TC. After a number of years of experience in the universal Church of Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio Summorum Pontificum (2007), Pope Francis consulted with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which had "carried out a detailed consultation of the bishops in 2020. The results have been carefully considered in the light of experience that has matured during these years." (TC) TC then goes on to require the limitations that we are implementing for the purpose of preserving unity in the Church.
Implementation of TC will only cause more division and may even cause people to leave the Church.
It is clear that Pope Francis' consultation through the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith saw it differently, believing that allowing a more widespread celebration of the TLM was causing more division universally in the Church. While it is sad that some may leave the Church, it appears that the direction that the Congregation recommended and Pope Francis required was implemented to cause less division over the longer term. The truth of that direction remains to be seen and may be addressed differently by subsequent popes.
People will have to travel farther to attend the TLM?
TC has stated that the TLM is not to be celebrated in parish churches. That limitation automatically requires that people will have to travel farther to attend. For some, however, the drive will be shorter. For example, the drive will be shorter for people in Boone to travel to Mooresville than their current commute to Greensboro for the TLM. Regardless of travel distance, the purpose of the new norms is clearly to limit access to the TLM and thus further travel was clearly anticipated.
This change will be a new burden for those in the Mountains, especially those impacted by Helene.
That this is a new burden upon those impacted by the hurricane is not true since the TLM has not been celebrated in the mountain areas of our Diocese since 2023 when Bishop Jugis began to implement TC. In fact, as mentioned above, the Mooresville location will be closer for some of those in the mountain areas that want to attend
Why doesn't Bishop Martin wait and see if Pope Leo XIV changes the established norms?
If Pope Leo decides to abrogate the norms of TC, Bishop Martin will certainly then abide by those new norms and implement them as directed. He is simply completing the implementation process begun by Bishop Jugis of the norms as they now exist in the life of the Church. To wait for the possibility of a new Pope to somehow change Church norms could have us waiting a rather long time or forever. We asked for a two year extension in 2023 and we are now ready to be in full conformity to Church norms.
Why doesn't Bishop Martin ask for another extension like other Bishops have done?
An extension is a temporary accommodation for a particular purpose. The only purpose for an extension in the Diocese of Charlotte at this time is to allow those who prefer the TLM to continue to celebrate the Mass in that form in the four parish churches where it is currently being offered. That is not the purpose of an extension. Regardless of when we do this, it will be painful for our faithful. Pope Francis knew that when he promulgated TC and still established limiting norms. Asking for extensions when none are warranted only prolongs the pain and uncertainty for these faithful. Other Bishops can have their own reasoning that does not necessarily speak to the reality in Western North Carolina.
Why was Mooresville selected?
If you look at the three largest population centers in the Diocese of Charlotte (The Triad, Asheville, and Charlotte), Mooresville is "somewhat" in the center of a triangle of those three locations - certainly not equidistant to all three. Mooresville is the only location in the diocese where we owned an already existing church that was not already a parish or mission. Thus, we have been able to use this location for this purpose.
The selection of a former non-denominational Church is an affront to those who prefer the TLM.
The Diocese has often used (and is even currently using) already constructed churches used by other denominations and transformed them into Catholic worship spaces. The universal Church has done similar transformations (the Pantheon comes to mind easily). When the new Chapel is finished it will be appropriately appointed for the celebration of the TLM and blessed for worship with no remnant of its former use. In fact, once completed, from the outside or inside one would never know that it was anything other than a Catholic chapel.
The new chapel in Mooresville is not large enough.
Currently in the entire Diocese of Charlotte only about 1,000 people attend the TLM each Sunday. Given that only one location will be available after July 8, it is believed that fewer people will probably travel to the one location and that two Sunday Masses in a chapel that will hold approximately 350 people for each Mass will be sufficient. If it is not, an additional Mass could be considered at that location.
The timing of this is curious and out of the blue.
The process of implementation of TC was begun by Bishop Jugis after it was promulgated in 2021. When Bishop Martin was named Bishop of Charlotte, he took time to further listen and learn about the process as well as to read the many letters that were shared with him. The decision to complete the implementation of TC was begun early in 2025 and shared with diverse consultative bodies of the Diocese. That Pope Francis died and Pope Leo XIV was elected since this process was in motion does not impact this process at all. If Pope Leo decides to issue a new motu proprio, Bishop Martin will comply with that as well.
Implementation of TC will reduce the number of seminarians that are coming to the Diocese of Charlotte.
The Charlotte Director of Vocations, the Charlotte Diocesan Admissions Board, and the formators of the multiple seminaries where our seminarians are trained have never accepted nor promoted young men for formation to the priesthood who have not been committed to the celebration of the Liturgy and Sacraments of the Church in the primary means by which they are celebrated in the Universal Church (the Novus Ordo). Any young man who is only or primarily interested in the celebration of the TLM is not nor has ever been a viable candidate for ordination to the transitional diaconate or priesthood in the Diocese of Charlotte.
Implementation of TC will cause people to withhold their giving to the Church.
All people are free to give in whatever way that they choose. However, Catholics in particular are called to give in support of the Church not out of charity, but as a response to the call of the Holy Spirit to be faithful and committed members of the one Body of Christ. If they choose to do that based upon a transactional model (I give when I get what I want), that is a perspective that is more modeled by our culture than by the Good News proclaimed by Jesus in Scripture. Regardless, even those who may be tempted by this worldly model, it is clear that the teaching of the Catholic Church and the carrying out of its norms by a local Bishop cannot be swayed by these considerations.
What can people do who find the TLM to be a blessing?
- Find ways to see the work of the Holy Spirit in the Novus Ordo given that it may be more difficult to attend the TLM. If we find ourselves holding onto resentment and anger while attending Mass in a form that is not your preference, the less we are able to open ourselves to the gift of God's love that comes to us in so many diverse ways.
- Avoid social media where division is the goal, not communion.
- Reach out to a priest or spiritual director to walk with you on your journey.
- Renew your faith commitment to the Roman Catholic Church. One of the reasons that TC was promulgated was to stem a growing tide of TLM adherents who were denying the validity and the legitimacy of the liturgical reform, dictated by Vatican Council II and the Magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs". (Art. 3 #1) Many who participate in the TLM in the Diocese of Charlotte are in complete communion with Vatican II, the Magisterium of the Church and her Supreme Pontiffs and do not deny the legitimacy of the liturgical reform. However, there are those who deny these truths. This is evidenced most frequently in social media posts, blogs, and letters written that definitively declare such. All of us can call on the Holy Spirit to purge our hearts of division and the anger it foments. All of us can call on the Holy Spirit to go beyond our personal preferences to the heart of communion that is made manifest in the sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist.
- Engage in some acts of penance and charity for the healing of the Church. The more we go outside ourselves (the nature of love) the less we are tempted to demand that our own needs be the center of our lives.
