CHARLOTTE — Four parish churches in the Diocese of Charlotte have been granted permission from the Vatican to continue offering the Traditional Latin Mass, Bishop Peter Jugis has announced.
Abiding by Pope Francis’ new norms shifting the Traditional Latin Mass to non-parochial churches, Bishop Jugis sought a dispensation for the four parishes in geographically diverse locations that have traditionally served the faithful who have an affinity for the old liturgy.
St. Ann and St. Thomas Aquinas parishes in Charlotte, St. John the Baptist Parish in Tryon, and Our Lady of Grace Parish in Greensboro may continue offering the old form of the Mass, which uses prayers and a liturgical calendar that pre-date the Church’s reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
Five other parishes that have been offering the Traditional Latin Mass in their parish churches, less frequently and for smaller groups, may no longer do so, Bishop Jugis said in a Dec. 6 memo to priests. Mission churches and non-parochial chapels that have been offering the Traditional Latin Mass were not affected by the Vatican’s decision and will continue as directed by the bishop.
The changes, which take effect Jan. 9, are part of the bishop’s stated goal of a “smooth and orderly transition to the new course charted by ‘Traditionis Custodes’,” Pope Francis’s 2021 norms that are intended to make accommodation for the celebration of the old form of the Mass for those who remain attached.
The Vatican body charged with implementing the pope’s instruction, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, permits the four parishes to continue offering the Traditional Latin Mass until Oct. 2, 2025, Bishop Jugis explained.
After that, the decree from the Dicastery for Divine Worship states that the parishes will need to ask again for permission to continue offering the old liturgy, at which point the Bishop of Charlotte may seek an extension of the dispensation. This request must detail the number of participants in the Latin Mass and describe the steps taken to lead them to participate in the current form of the liturgy.
In what he described as an effort to promote unity in the Church, Pope Francis restored limits on the celebration of the old liturgy that had been allowed or expanded by his predecessors St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.
“Traditionis Custodes” (“Guardians of the Tradition”) declared the liturgical books promulgated after the Second Vatican Council to be “the unique expression of the ‘lex orandi’ (law of worship) of the Roman Rite” and directed bishops not to establish any new groups or parishes in their dioceses devoted to the old liturgy.
The pope’s instruction also does not permit the continued celebration of the pre-Vatican II form of other sacraments and rites, such as confirmation or marriage.
In his December memo, Bishop Jugis also noted that priests who are already permitted to offer the Traditional Latin Mass may continue, at the locations and times now permitted.
He thanked the clergy for their “continuing ministry to the holy people of God as we proceed to implement the provisions of the Motu proprio ‘Traditionis custodes.’”
— Catholic News Herald