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[Catholic Caucus] Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon Orders Seminarians to "Never" Celebrate Mass in the Roman RiteAccording to PaixLiturgique.fr (12 June), the destruction of the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, France, is making good progress.In November 2023, Pope Francis transferred Monsignor François Touvet from Châlons-en-Champagne, a dried-up diocese in northern France, to Fréjus-Toulon, which was then a vibrant and fertile diocese.Monsignor Touvet promised not to act against the diocesan bishop, Dominique Rey. However, Touvet often does the opposite of what he says. If he is caught, he denies it and starts again.Many testify to his desire to remain ambiguous and to keep the faithful,...

[Catholic Caucus] The "Mercy" Hammer Comes Down on Traditional Latin Masses in Detroit -- 10 Parish Masses to be Closed [Update: Ad Orientem posture in Novus Ordo also banned][Updated: as the full implementation document at the end makes clear, the ban of ad orientem and other traditional liturgical aspects in the Novus Ordo is not a rumor anymore, but it's fully public.] Ugliness and cruelty dressed up as goodness and obedience. Disgusting.A few notes:1. "Fidelity to the Holy Father's call" - He means Francis; Leo XIV has made no such call yet.2. The "all other sites" for which permission will...

[Catholic Caucus] Soon-to-be archbishop in Argentina publicly scolded altar boys for kneeling to receive CommunionBishop Raúl Martín of Santa Rosa, who Leo XIV appointed as archbishop of Paraná, rebuked altar boys during Mass in front of the congregation because they wanted to receive Communion kneeling.A prelate in Argentina appointed as an archbishop by Pope Leo XIV previously scolded altar boys during Mass because they insisted on kneeling to receive Holy Communion. The bishop also reportedly denied the Blessed Sacrament to children who knelt for their First Holy Communion.Bishop Raúl Martín of Santa Rosa, who Leo XIV named last Wednesday to...

[Catholic Caucus] Texas archbishop falsely claims independent school ‘misrepresents’ its Catholic statusLumen Christi Academy seeks to provide 'an authentically Catholic classical education' but makes clear it is an 'independent' school outside of diocesan control.Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio has falsely accused a self-proclaimed “independent school in the Catholic tradition” of misrepresenting “their Catholic status to the public” in an attempt to discourage displaced schoolchildren from attending the academy.After The Atonement Catholic Academy announced May 31 that it would soon close due to financial unsustainability, Lumen Christi Academy – an initiative of the Sanctus Ranch founders and within driving distance...

[Catholic Caucus] Charlotte’s War on Reverence: A Priesthood UndoneRunning the Church of the 60's playbook nicknamed "The Spirit of Vatican II," Bishop Martin of the Diocese of Charlotte is stamping out tradition with the "Spirit of Traditionis Custodes."he leaked Liturgical Norms document from Bishop Michael Martin of the Diocese of Charlotte reads like a parody of 1970s fervor, delivered by a tyrannical hand through a series of ironically rigid dictates. They are poised to cause direct harm to the priests of the diocese and, through their pain, to faithful parishioners. The man who claims that the liturgy is not the...

[Catholic Caucus] New Pope - New Methods: Charlotte Bishop Martin Pauses Restrictions on Latin Mass until (at least) October Thank you to all Catholics who reached out to request a reprieve -- and to all authorities who asked the bishop of Charlotte, Michael Martin, to be reasonable in his struggle against the Traditional Latin Mass. Did he get a phone call about his restrictions? Apparently...Here's hoping this minor reprieve will be extended indefinitely. (Notice important point near the middle of the article: "In the interim, Bishop Martin said, should the Vatican issue any official changes to Traditionis Custodes, the diocese...

The Charlotte CharlatanBishop Martin of the NC diocese, appointed only one year ago as the ordinary, wasted no time drafting a pastoral letter to diocesan priests on the “Celebration of the Liturgy.” This Charlotte Charlatan screed is 8,000 words. We will not quote extensively from the wordy screed but selectively, to provide just a whiff of the stench.IT IS COMMON nowadays for diocesan clergy to gather annually or more frequently as a presbyterate, with their bishop, for fellowship, prayer and study. Several years ago, the featured speaker at one such clergy gathering was a diocesan liturgist, who also taught in...

[Catholic Caucus] Sources: Charlotte bishop shelves Mass manifesto, for nowAfter TLM pushback, liturgical controversy continues in North CarolinaThe Bishop of Charlotte, North Carolina is expected to release new policies governing the ordinary celebration of the Mass in his diocese, local sources say, but a recently leaked draft policy text has already been spiked internally in the diocese, after widespread pushback against the bishop’s plans.The leaked text follows widespread controversy last week over new restrictions on older liturgical forms in the Charlotte diocese.And while Charlotte Bishop Michael Martin has urged Catholics to pray for an end to division in the diocese,...

[Catholic Caucus] Father Chris Alar speaks out against suppression of Latin Mass in CharlotteOn this episode of Faith and Reason, Father Chris Alar, MIC, joins John-Henry Westen to discuss the bishop of Charlotte’s crackdown on the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), Pope Leo XIV’s first bishop appointments, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s project aimed at renewing reverence in the liturgy, and more. The panel opened the episode by discussing Bishop Michael Martin’s suppression of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in the Diocese of Charlotte. Martin ordered last week that the Latin Masses at all parish churches – 4 in total – be merged...

[Catholic Caucus] Rorate Exclusive: The Anti-Traditional and Anti-Liturgical Pastoral Letter to be Sent by the Bishop of Charlotte on Liturgical Norms in His DioceseRorate was able to obtain the letter written by the Bishop of Charlotte, North Carolina, Michael Martin OFM Conv, who last week decreed the almost extinction of the Traditional Latin Mass in his diocese. This letter is supposed to be made public sometime in the future, and it was being kept secret (since it was written while Francis was still pope, Francis is referenced in the document -- it also leads to believe that the decision to...

Charlotte bishop denounces Latin, altar rails, kneeling in leaked letterIn a letter obtained by Rorate Caeli, Bishop Michael Martin attacked core Catholic traditions, including the use of Latin, kneeling, and clergy prayers before and after Mass.UPDATE: Sources inside the diocese have attested to The Pillar that the proposed document has in fact been already laid aside by the bishop, due to widespread opposition amongst clergy in the diocese. LifeSite has not been able to corroborate this claim.CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (LifeSiteNews) — The bishop of Charlotte is set to issue even more restrictions on the liturgy in the coming days, harshly...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Martin Crushes Charlotte Diocese Traditional Latin Mass CatholicsCharlotte, N.C. - Following upon the retired Bishop Peter Jugis’ initial implementation in 2023 of Pope Francis’s motu proprio that back-tracked on all of the previous Pope’s declarations of the pre-Conciliar Mass (and sacraments) having never been abrogated, Bishop Michael T. Martin slammed the door on traditional Catholics eliminating the Sunday Traditional Mass at the four parishes currently offering it. These included parishes in Greensboro, two in Charlotte, and Tryon.Coincidentally, The Remnant broke the initial story when the indult Latin Mass was first approved for Charlotte. (INSERT STORY LINK. I...

[Catholic Caucus] OUTRAGE: San Antonio archbishop cancels Catholic family businessThe letter from Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio formally prohibits all clergy, schools, retreat centers, and Catholic groups 'from contracting with or utilizing Sanctus Ranch for any Catholic-sponsored retreats, meetings, activities, or spiritual endeavors.'Support Sanctus Ranch retreat center: LifeFunderSAN ANTONIO (LifeSiteNews) — In a devastating blow to a faithful Texas Catholic family with six children who have made their living running a private ranch, the archbishop of San Antonio, Texas, has issued a public letter to all Catholics directing them not to do business with the ranch. The January 30...

Dear Cardinal Cupich: At least obey the rubrics of the Novus Ordo Mass Dear Cardinal Cupich:I write to you as a Catholic priest on the feast of St. Thomas Becket, who is commemorated in the Octave of Christmas. St. Thomas Becket was certainly a complex man, but in the end—and the end is ultimately important to us all-- how he died so violently in the Cathedral at Canterbury at the hands of assassins driven to that terrible deed by King Henry II, made him a saint, not by a proclamation from Rome, but rather because of the “common” Catholics...

[Catholic Caucus] On this Sunday morning in the Diocese of Grand Falls, in Newfoundland, there is No Mass for You - unless of course you're jabbed! Bishop Anthony Daniels, Bishop of Grand Falls in the long-suffering Church in Newfoundland has barred anyone from attending the Mass or sacraments unless they are "fully vaccinated." Daniels, former Auxiliary of the Diocese of London is another gift that keeps on giving from Pope Benedict XVI, clearly duped or oblivious to the faithless hirelings he was appointing. On September 18, we wrote of the situation in Moncton where the bishop attempted the same...

[Catholic Caucus] Latin Mass church owner vows to continue restoration despite diocesan disapprovalBill Price, a former marine, says the Diocese is not being completely honest about their past interactions. Fri Oct 15, 2021 - 3:17 pm EDTSat Oct 16, 2021 - 9:36 am EDT CHEBOYGAN, Michigan (LifeSiteNews) — A layman restoring a Catholic church that was sold by the Diocese of Gaylord in the 1980s says the diocese is not telling the truth about their interactions. The man has also vowed to continue restoring the church despite the diocese’s apostolic administrator wishing he wouldn’t.Bill Price is a former marine who...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Threatens Unvaccinated Priests, Provokes Catholic RallyPaterson Bishop Kevin Sweeney, New Jersey, told his priests on September 14 that he “strongly encourages” (= orders) them to receive a Covid "vaccination."Non-medical exemptions would be minimal, Sweeney threatened, warning that he would remove non-vaccinated priests from active ministry.As a consequence, on September 24, his faithful organised a rosary rally in Clifton with the intention to keep faithful priests in their ministry. According to a flyer, the event was also intended to ask the bishop, a pro-lifer, “to have his actions line up with his words,”“Bishop Sweeney claims that getting an...

[Catholic Caucus] The Bishop Cancelled the Memorial Requiem for my MotherTo the average Penn State student, the fourth of September of 2018 was a day like any other. A Tuesday early in the semester, the weather in State College, Pennsylvania was perfect, and the buzz of a promising football season (coupled with a narrow victory the week before) permeated campus. It was around 2 o’clock in the afternoon when I received a call I had been dreading but, unfortunately, expecting.My mother had died.For the past four years, my mother, Cheryl, had battled stage IV metastatic breast cancer. Over the course...

Houston, We Have A Problem: The Latin Mass The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas is the fifth largest diocese in the U.S., a result of the explosive growth around the City of Houston -- the fourth largest city in the U.S. -- and its surrounding counties. It has a massive priest shortage, with just 150 active archdiocesan priests of the 435 priests serving, retired or residing in the 146-parish archdiocese. There are 411 "permanent deacons" in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.In recent years the archbishop, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, had been friendly toward those who worship at the traditional Latin Mass....

When a Bishop Outlaws Private Traditional MassesIn a three-page letter dated August 20, 2021, and addressed to “Dear Brothers in Christ,” Most Reverend David A. Zubik, Bishop of Pittsburgh, apparently in an effort to show that he is more Bergoglian than Bergoglio, takes a hearty step beyond what is demanded by a strict interpretation of Pope Francis’s motu proprio Traditionis Custodes [TC]. In spite of the fact that Pittsburgh is one of the United States’ most depressed and collapsing dioceses—as can be seen from relentless parish closures that have left the city pockmarked with churches converted into restaurants, bars, penthouses,...