ARLINGTON, Virginia (LifeSiteNews) — Three hundred faithful Catholics held a peaceful pilgrimage march from St. Thomas More Cathedral in Arlington, Virginia to St. Matthew the Apostle Cathedral in Washington, D.C. in a show of support for the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). Cardinal Wilton Gregory of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. and Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington have both cracked down on the TLM, citing Pope Francis’ 2021 decree Traditionis Custodes.
The march “commemorate[d] the 15th anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum,” a news release prior to the event stated. The march also aimed to “express sorrow” over the restrictions in D.C. and Virginia, which organizers called “cruel and unjust.”
“The pilgrimage was amazing!” organizer Noah Peters told LifeSiteNews. “We had 300 faithful Catholics marching through Arlington and DC chanting the rosary and Catholic hymns. We had beautiful banners and torches, and the march was visually stunning.”
“It is important for us to reclaim space as Catholics, and we truly had that feeling as we marched through the streets and over the Key Bridge into Washington, D.C,” Peters said in his email. “We successfully demonstrated the vitality and reverence of the movement for the Traditional Latin Mass within the Church. It was all the more stunning because this was a completely grassroots effort. We had no outside organizations backing us or funding us.”
Liberal bishops around the world continue promoting heterodox views on homosexuality, female priests, divorce, contraception, and more — advancing anti-Catholic positions that jeopardize the salvation of souls.
Such bishops often sideline, ignore and even persecute traditional Catholics who simply ask that the Faith be preserved and passed on to their children.
But traditional Catholics cannot be silenced any longer, which is why we are uniting in this international boycott of modernist bishops and dioceses until the deposit of Faith is upheld by the hierarchy again.
SIGN: We will not fund modernist bishops or priests who undermine the Catholic Faith, but rather direct our contributions towards faithful clergy and orders that work for the salvation of souls.
There are countless examples of bishops working against Christ's Church in calling for divine law to be ignored in favor of sexual, doctrinal and liturgical deviancy, even trying to clamp down on Catholics who practise the Faith.
Just last year, Cardinal Cupich banned traditional prayers after Mass, and more recently has curtailed the Traditional Latin Mass in his diocese.
Cardinal Cupich has banned the Hail Mary and St Michael Prayer after Mass
— Nick Donnelly (@ProtecttheFaith) August 27, 2021
Who but a devil would ban these prayers after Mass
The attack on the Faith is out in the open, with modernist bishops causing scandal in countless ways:
- Shutting down the Latin Mass in numerous parishes
- Rejecting the Church's teaching on sodomy
- Ignoring Vatican cover-ups of abuse by fellow bishops
- Celebrating LGBT Masses
- And so much more!
We have seen enough. Now is the time to show true Catholic unity against those who undermine the Faith - do not be bullied into submission by these men who would disfigure Christ's Church.
JOIN THE BOYCOTT & SHARE! Tell everyone you know to STOP giving money to bishops who attack the Catholic Faith.
"We therefore commit to a financial boycott of modernist bishops until the hierarchy resolves to uphold the entire deposit of Faith."
If the bishops refuse to uphold and protect the teaching of Christ's Bride, the Catholic Church, then we must refuse to support them until they repent.
Thank you
P.S. — Demanding that liberal bishops be held to account through financial boycott will help save the Church from doctrinal and pastoral ruin. This is the first step in restoring the Faith for future generations. Our time is now, so please join us by signing today!
Photos: Pope Francis. Flickr. Long Thiên; Cardinal Cupich. Flickr. Goat_Girl; Collection Plate: Lisa F. Young/Shutterstock
He said “ordinary parishioners” from both dioceses organized the event in a month. “The March strengthened our resolve to work with Pope Francis and our Bishops to restore the free celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, and also to take on greater leadership roles in our parishes and our dioceses.”
“The Traditional Latin Mass is the form of the Mass celebrated by most Catholics until the 1970s,” the news release noted. “Marked by incense, chanted prayers in Latin, and reverent silence, it continues to nurture and sustain the spiritual lives of thousands of Catholics across the globe.”
Thank you for the tremendous support. We got nearly double what we were expecting. See you next year. pic.twitter.com/yZnZHyf54q
— National Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage (@tlmpilgrimage) September 18, 2022
Bishop Burbidge eliminated 13 of 21 Latin Mass locations, forcing some parishioners to worship in gyms or old churches that did not have pews. For example, parishioners at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Fredericksburg had donated to build a new church with communion rails and an altar against the wall, perfect for a TLM. Instead, the bishop’s decree relegated them to the old, outdated church that did not have pews because the parish had sold them. It went into effect on September 8.
Cardinal Gregory’s decree, which goes into effect on Wednesday, eliminated the popular St. Mary Mother of God parish in Chinatown as a TLM location. He relegated the TLM to three churches, including two in Maryland. He also, like Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, banned the TLM from being used at Christmas, the Triduum, Pentecost Sunday and Easter, despite Traditionis Custodes containing no such requirement.
Liturgical scholar and theologian Dr. Peter Kwasniewski described Cardinal Gregory’s decree as “restrictive, vindictive, heartless, and pastorally cruel.”