Ongoing Recourse to the Hierarchy

Updated December 17th, 2025

Suggested next steps for the faithful in the Diocese of Charlotte in light of the fact that our issues continue…

This is an ongoing option. It is not time-sensitive.

Please continue to send in your letters, especially now that there is a new Prefect for the Dicastery for Bishops.

As we await a pleaded-for reply from His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, regarding assisting the faithful in the Diocese of Charlotte by means of protecting the reverence of the Novus Ordo Missae and restoring parish-based Traditional Latin Masses, we find ourselves with two options currently at our disposal:

Recourse to two Dicasteries of the Hierarchy by letter.

This recourse can be taken, as permitted and encouraged by Canon law, by explaining our grievances and our petitions to the appropriate Dicasteries. In this case, two Dicasteries can be petitioned:

the Dicastery for Bishops

– and –

the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

This recourse is not to be understood as an act of disobedience toward Bishop Martin, or an expression of ill will. The faithful have a clear right to express their concerns and needs to the hierarchy. That is what this is focused on.

First: writing to the Dicastery for Bishops

When writing to the Dicastery for Bishops, the faithful can express their general grievances, pains, and concerns regarding the actions and statements of Bishop Michael Martin.

The tone of the letters should be respectful and focused on the facts. There should be no assumption of bad motives or ill will on the part of the Bishop.

Many of the concerns which Faithful Advocate has been informed about are related to the following:

• that Bishop Martin is not respecting the character of the Diocese that he inherited

• that Bishop Martin is making changes way too fast, such as with the liturgical traditions of the Eucharistic Congress

• that he appears deaf to the needs and desires of his faithful

• that he refuses to listen to and engage the faithful in a spirit of synodality

• that he intends to remove many treasured and traditional signs of reverence and piety from the liturgies of the Diocese, as demonstrated in his actions toward the Traditional Latin Mass, in his proposed Norms for the Novus Ordo Missae, and in his Norms for the liturgy at Catholic Schools

• that he does not adequately understand the norms of the Church nor the weight of traditional liturgical practices, but instead seeks to impose his own views upon the faithful.

If you have experienced any of these issues, or anything equally concerning but not mentioned above, about which you can personally attest, or if you yourself have concerns about these or other things, it is important that you voice these to the hierarchy of the Church.

Second: writing to the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

When writing to this Dicastery, the faithful should express all of their concerns about Bishop Martin’s governance of the Sacred Liturgy in the Diocese. It can mention his disregard for the rights of the faithful regarding altar rails, as well as their desire that an extension of the permissions for the Traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese of Charlotte be granted. Should he seek to prohibit other traditional and lawful aspects of the Sacred Liturgy, such as Mass offered ad orientem, these letters can reflect that as well.

It can also be expressed that the faithful are left dumbfounded that Bishop Michael Martin refuses to ask Rome for the extension of the Traditional Latin Mass and seeks to strip the faithful of their use of the altar rails. These decisions of the Bishop are disheartening to the faithful, appear to have been made without proper justification, and were made without taking the time to explain it properly to the Faithful.

These letters must not be anonymous. It is important that this is a true communication from members of the faithful. Please structure your letters formally and sign and date them.

Finally, it is advisable to send these letters, to either Dicastery, through the Apostolic Nuncio in Washington, D.C. This will accomplish two things:

• Inform him personally of the many concerns of the faithful in the Diocese of Charlotte

• Allow a faster and more secure shipment of the letter to the proper Dicastery

WHERE and HOW to SEND THE LETTERS - DETAILS HERE

In addition to sending your letter, please offer the prayers for the Bishop and the Diocese which are on the Faithful Advocate (HERE) website. Consider praying these daily.

Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini!

In Christ,

Faithful Advocate