Leo XIV Unlikely to Overturn 'Traditionis Custodes' – U.S. Bishop
In an interview with AmericaMagazine.org on 26 March, he began with a thinly veiled dismissal of Catholics attached to the Roman rite: "I don't want to say that they're some sort of lunatic fringe. They're not. These are people who feel strongly about the liturgy, and there's goodness and holiness in that."
Leo XIV Would Not Change what Francis Has Done
Monsignor Martin referred to his responsibility as a bishop to maintain fidelity to the Church’s "norms". He framed his cruel decisions, especially those relating to the Traditional Latin Mass, as an act of obedience: "All I did was implement Traditionis Custodes in the Diocese of Charlotte."
The bishop rejected the idea of extending the existing Masses indefinitely without a clear pastoral plan to end them: "If we need more time, then show me what you're going to do in the next two years so that things will change."
The bishop found that the rationale of Catholics was different: "It was simply, 'We want to celebrate the liturgy this way'."
According to Monsignor Martin, Catholics were hoping that a future pope would reverse the decision. "There were those who were saying, 'Why don't you just wait?'"
But: "I thought the chances of Pope Leo XIV changing what Pope Francis had done were relatively slim."
Kneeling for Communion Has "No Place" in Novus Ordo
Regarding kneeling for Holy Communion, Bishop Martin admitted that his concern was "not reverence", but consistency with liturgical "norms".
He realised that Masses in the Roman rite had reintroduced kneeling for Communion into the Novus Ordo, saying: "That's not what the norm calls for."
And: "Common gestures are part of the norms, and in the United States, the norm for receiving Communion is standing", he claimed, without quoting anything.
Click on the video sequence below to get a glimpse his voice and intonation.
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