When Bishop Michael Martin of the Catholic diocese of Charlotte made headlines last week for proposing to ban the use of altar rails, the Latin language, and the St. Michael prayer in the Mass, his flock and the Catholic Church in the United States voiced loud, negative reactions.
The bishop’s goal of establishing unity in liturgical practice in the diocese is entirely noble, but the unrest following the proposed restrictions suggests his approach is out of touch with the desires of his diocese and of young people in the church.
Bishop Martin also sparked backlash for proposing new restrictions on the celebration of Mass in the Extraordinary form, which he has since pushed back to October. More notable and unexpected are his proposed guidelines for the celebration of the Novus Ordo.
In a leaked letter written pre–Pope Leo XIV — originally published by the blog Rorate Caeli and later confirmed by The Pillar as an early draft of directives for liturgical reform — the bishop expresses concern about the reclamation of the “rubrics, actions, and sensibilities” of the Missal of 1962 and gives a list of liturgical norms to be followed in the diocese. Those who take issue with the bishop’s directive should first read his letter in full and consider the good goal toward which he is striving.
He begins by expressing his desire to set aside liturgical preferences and establish unity in worship throughout the diocese.
As the bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte, it falls to me, too, to set my own preferences aside to be in communion with our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and my brother bishops. Together, we must discern the signs of the times as well as the particular and unique dynamics throughout the Diocese of Charlotte and the Southeast. In this process, there are no particularities that would allow any of us to contravene the magisterium of the Church or the rich tradition that has been handed down to us. . . . Though some may see the following areas of liturgical life as polemical, I simply hope to focus on larger, overarching principles that should help frame our life of faith, encourage unity in worship, put preferences behind us, and celebrate the Church’s liturgy in a more integrated manner throughout the diocese.
The letter goes on to list guidelines including the prohibition of altar rails, the celebration of Mass ad orientem, and the Latin language in the liturgy.
As a long-time resident of the Charlotte diocese, I know where the bishop is coming from.
Bishop Martin is responding to a palpable tension within the diocese. Parish to parish, the liturgy differs significantly, and discrepancy in liturgical preferences sometimes creates an awkward dynamic between parishes and parishioners who find themselves in separate camps. The Charlotte diocese is hardly unique. During his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV will face many questions raised by differing liturgical practices in his effort to build bridges in the church.
If Bishop Martin is trying to reach young people, however, he’s overcorrecting.
Gen Z is flocking to the church in part for its aesthetic and liturgical beauty and its sense of transcendence, often evoked by traditional liturgical norms. Madeleine Kearns of the Free Press (and formerly of National Review) illustrates this point when writing about the recent spike in conversions to the Catholic faith among young people:
It’s easy to forget, in an age of efficiency and technology, that human beings need beauty and awe. On May 14, while addressing leaders of the Eastern Christian churches, the new pope spoke of the “great need to recover the sense of mystery” at Catholic Mass, which engages “the human person in his or her entirety. . . and evokes a sense of wonder.”
For many new Catholics, this means the “smells and bells” of traditionalism, which allows worshippers to feel the higher truth of religion through their senses, rather than just grapple with it on an intellectual level. For Jane, an arresting work of art, or a beautiful piece of music, “shows how present God is in our lives to inspire us.”
Young people want to be part of something beautiful. The Catholic faith — with its rich traditions, intellectual rigor, and sacramental life — fulfills that desire in a deep and meaningful way.
Direction over liturgical norms rightly falls to the bishop and to the leadership of the church. Bishop Martin is correct, of course, that liturgical preferences ought to be set aside in order to better follow the guidance of the magisterium, and only the bishop has the proper authority to give such guidance.
But if he wants to bring young people into the church, preserving traditional liturgical practices could be a bridge rather than a barrier.