Your Excellency:
Praise be to Jesus Christ now and forever. As one of your most loyal priests – who has always tried to honor his Church, obey his bishop, and worship his God – I never anticipated having to do what I’m about to do, and I am truly sorry for the disappointment it may cause.
After much prayer, study, and consideration, I find myself bound in conscience to declare my intention to disobey your order to stop offering the Traditional Latin Mass.
I realize that Your Excellency is in a difficult position, and that you too are following the dictates of your conscience where the Holy Father’s motu proprio Traditionis Custodes is concerned. But I have weighed my duty before God against my promise to obey – and God won out. As I see it, to comply with an order so unjust could well rise to the level of affrontery to Almighty God Himself.
I cannot accept that God wishes for us to cooperate with such cruel persecution of such faithful Catholics. And even if it means I am to lose my position and livelihood for a time, at least I will not have the souls of their children on my conscience.
But let me be clear, I do not intend to disrespect you, much less question your rightful authority over me as a simple priest. This is a matter of conscience for me, and the reason I cannot obey has everything to do with the crisis in the Church and nothing whatever to do with any personal disrespect for you.
Before God, I have no choice. I see so many faithful Catholics losing heart due to sexual, financial, and doctrinal scandals that run up and down the entire chain of command. The few that remain are barely hanging on. Many would have left already had it not been for the Extraordinary Form, which somehow by God’s grace speaks to their broken hearts and soothes their battered souls.
How can we take this away from them? Have they not suffered enough? This is the only Mass the young people in my parish have ever known. It unites them, not only with Catholics all over the world, but also with their forefathers. It sustains them. It lifts them up, inspires them, helps them grow closer to God.
What will happen to them when we take away the Mass they attend certainly every Sunday but also most weekdays? We both know that the vast majority of Catholics in our diocese no longer attend Sunday Mass at all.
Our Church is based on Faith and Reason, but how is this not detrimental to Faith? And how is it not utterly unreasonable? I cannot accept that God wishes for us to cooperate with such cruel persecution of such faithful Catholics. And even if it means I am to lose my position and livelihood for a time, at least I will not have the souls of their children on my conscience. I know them. I see how much they love God and the Church and the angels and the saints. I will not do this to them. I cannot betray them.
Besides, what will happen to them when we take away the Mass they attend certainly every Sunday but also most weekdays? We both know that the vast majority of Catholics in our diocese no longer attend Sunday Mass at all. No, I can have no part in this scandal.
I pray that you will understand my crisis of conscience, even if you disagree with my decision to continue offering the Latin Mass. You are my bishop, Francis is my pope, and I will pray for you both at every Mass I offer, even as I pray that our merciful God will shorten this time of tribulation for us all.
With great sorrow and sincere affection,
Father X