A North Carolina Bishop Threatens a Full-Scale ‘Liturgy War’, by Phil Lawler

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture, May 28, 2025

Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org

With a directive that bans the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in his parishes, and the threat of more detailed instructions barring even modest incorporation of traditional practices, Bishop Michael Martin of Charlotte, North Carolina, threatens to re-ignite the bitter “liturgy wars” that divided the Catholic Church in the 1960s and 1970s. Ironically, the bishop explains his policy proposals as a means of fostering greater unity among the faithful.

Last week Bishop Martin announced that he would prohibit the use of the traditional liturgy in parish churches to “promote the concord and unity of the Church.” He said that the TLM would be allowed only in one chapel which will be renovated to serve the traditionalist Catholics of the diocese—a territory that covers more than 20,000 square miles in the rugged hills of western North Carolina. …

Continue reading >>>>>>>>>>>>