‘Our bishop is listening to us’ — Young Catholics respond to Charlotte policy rollback

‘Of course I'm happy about it’

Young Catholics in the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, have expressed enthusiasm after Bishop Michael Martin temporarily paused a policy that restricts the Traditional Latin Mass in the diocese.

St. Ann Catholic Church Charlotte, North Carolina. Courtesy: Augusta Westhoff.

But in a situation that’s received ongoing attention among Catholics, some say they are waiting to see whether their bishop will ask the Vatican to allow the extraordinary form of the Mass to continue in their parishes — and they wonder what Vatican officials will say.

To some, the situation seems to point to ongoing challenges implementing the 2021 motu proprio Traditionis custodes, especially at the start of a new papacy for the Church.

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For the past week-and-a-half, there has been only one topic of conversation among Patrick Gallagher, 20, and his friends in the Charlotte diocese — their bishop’s May 23 directives on the Traditional Latin Mass, which would end the older liturgical form in four parish churches, moving it instead to a single chapel authorized to offer two Sunday Masses.

The tone of that conversation shifted significantly Tuesday evening, after Bishop Martin announced a delay in his plans: new regulations will not be implemented in early July, but in October, when a Vatican dispensation permitting the older liturgy in parish churches expires.

For Gallagher, the June 3 announcement brought relief to an anxious situation.

“I was hanging out with my friends last night and we were talking about the new announcement and everyone was excited and said that they are relieved,” Gallagher told The Pillar Wednesday.

“Of course I'm happy about it,” Gallagher said. “It’s really great that our bishop is very involved in the diocese and is among the people and seems to have been listening to the people and their concerns with the new policy.”

“We are just relieved that our bishop is listening to us,” Gallagher added.

Augusta Westhoff, a 24-year-old working in marketing, said the announcement encouraged her to appreciate a liturgy she loves at her own parish church.

“I just had so much joy and gratitude to God that we are able to attend Latin Mass for at least a few more months,” Westhoff said.

“Every single celebration of Mass is such a gift, and I feel that urgency now at every Mass I attend, realizing that we could be deprived of it,” she added.

“I will be cherishing every Mass like never before.”

Filumena Martin, a 29-year-old school teacher, shared that sentiment.

“I am extremely pleased with the announcement from the bishop to return the extension of the TLM,” Martin told The Pillar.

“I had no expectation that the July 8 date would be reversed. The announcement for that date was about six weeks prior to the July 8 date, which comes across as very abrupt and hostile,” she said.

Martin said that when she heard the news Tuesday night, she told her fiancé, Michael Kissam, who sometimes attends the Traditional Latin Mass, and otherwise attends the ordinary form Mass at his parish, St. Matthew’s in Charlotte.

Kissam said he’d heard mixed reactions among Charlotte’s young Catholics.

“There's been mixed reactions from different people,” Kissam said.

“While people are excited, it's precarious because unlike me — I have the parish of Saint Matthews that is not impacted by the bishop’s directives — this is their faith community. This is their lifeblood, it is their access to the most holy Mass.”

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Bishop Martin’s policy reversal came after pushback from within the diocese and online. Catholics across the diocese said they were discouraged after learning about the new diocesan restrictions. Quickly, groups formed to sign petitions and write letters to the bishop expressing hope for reconsideration.

Amid that pushback The Pillar reported that some young people in the diocese said they felt forced to choose between worshipping at their local parish or attending a liturgy which they have come to love, at a new chapel which was, in some cases, far from home.

The diocesan announcement Tuesday explained that initially “it made sense to start these changes in July when dozens of our priests will be moving to their new parishes and other assignments,”

“That said,” Bishop Martin explained, “I want to listen to the concerns of these parishioners and their priests, and I am willing to give them more time to absorb these changes.”

Filumena Martin told The Pillar that some Catholics in the diocese think that Bishop Martin (no relation) might eventually ask the Vatican to extend permission for the Traditional Latin Mass in parish churches.

“Some are hopeful that the Latin Mass will be granted an even longer extension in the diocese while others do not expect support for continuation of the Latin Mass,” she said.

But Filumena herself said she’s not expecting that.

“I certainly hold no hope that the bishop will support the faithful in requesting an additional extension from Rome to continue the TLM longer than October 2nd.”

Gallagher said much the same — that the announcement this week was a reprieve, not a reversal.

“I don't think he will try to get an extension from the Vatican and this is the general consensus of most people in the diocese,” Gallagher said. “The people that I have talked to all feel like he does not want the Latin Mass in his diocese.”

Augusta Westhoff said that in her view, the reprieve could give time for a broader change to the Church’s policy on the extraordinary form of the Mass, regardless of what Bishop Martin decides to do.

“This decision is an essential first step and the first public response we’ve received from the bishop. Although (I believe) he has stated he will not be requesting an extension from the Vatican, there is always hope,” Westhoff said.

“It seems many Church leaders may be awaiting instruction from Pope Leo XIV on the Traditional Latin Mass, so we will pray fervently that our new pope brings true unity through restoration of the Latin Mass.”

Meanwhile, several young Catholics told The Pillar that Bishop Martin’s change of mind was encouraging — a sign that he had listened to Catholics, even if public pressure also had something to do with it.

“I'm very relieved that I have until October to attend the Latin mass at my parish but I am also very relieved because this decision shows that the bishop is listening to us,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher sees this newest announcement as evidence that their advocacy efforts worked.

“I think the fact that a lot of people wrote letters and a lot of people signed a petition, and a lot of people were reaching out to the bishop saying that they were not happy about the Latin Mass restrictions show that the Bishop is good at listening and open to feedback,” Gallagher said.

Others said that it was an admirable move that took courage. After the reversal, they hope that the bishop will continue listening and working to understand the local Traditional Latin Mass community.

“I’m glad that he listened, I have no doubt that it took a lot of courage as the leader of a diocese of thousands of people to go back on your decision; especially one that had so much controversy around it,” Kissam said.

“I commend Bishop Martin for making that decision and I pray he continues to uphold that courage and come to try to foster closer relations between the two groups in Charlotte.”

But will any of that lead to renewed trust for the bishop?

Filumena Martin wasn’t sure.

“I do not believe there is renewed trust in the bishop here,” Martin said. “I certainly do not feel that this action shows any change in the bishop’s perspective towards the Latin Mass. People are still sad and disappointed that he wants to transition all Latin Masses to one location and that he appears to believe that Novus Ordo and Latin Masses cannot coexist in a parish without creating disharmony.”

Kissam agreed.

“At the end of the day, the statement does not reverse the intention of Bishop Martin's original statement,” Kissam said.

“It is a pause but I fear, and a lot of Catholics also fear, that we are going to repeat this again in September. It is a lot to rescind the previous statement and put a pause on a very influential and heavy impacting decision. It's a lot more to do that a second time and potentially cause even more hurt and tension.”

Westhoff said that for her, the experience of liturgical whiplash will take some time to process.

“Many people are alarmed at the speed of all these decisions and wonder why the extension was cut short with such urgency,” Westhoff said. “Because all of this has happened within two weeks, we haven’t even fully processed the first decision, and now it’s reversed. It seems we’re all waiting with bated breath to see the next huge headline, so we can’t even take a moment to rejoice in this gift.”

“In a practical sense, we’re in the same position as two weeks ago, with the permission expiring in October,” Westhoff added. “The only difference now is that we have a much clearer idea of the bishop’s intentions for the diocese in the future, given his recent decisions and leaked information.”

Meanwhile, Patrick Gallagher told The Pillar that, for now, he’s glad to continue attending a liturgy that has been important to his spiritual life.

“It does not feel like this will be a drawn out, sad goodbye. There is nothing in me that wants to rip off the Band-Aid. I will take the Latin Mass for as long as I can because it's really good and beautiful and I love attending it,” Gallagher explained.

“We will take the beauty of the Latin Mass for as long as we can have it.”