ROCKY MOUNT, North Carolina (LifeSiteNews) — A North Carolina bishop has restricted the Traditional Latin Mass in his diocese, leaving only one parish to offer the traditional liturgy every Sunday.
Bishop Luis Zarama, JCL, of the Diocese of Raleigh has moved two priests who offered the TLM and canceled its celebration at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, according to a letter to parishioners dated May 1, 2023. The parish offered multiple TLMs weekly, including one every Sunday that consistently drew around 150 to 175 people.
The two priests currently at the parish, Fathers Clyde Meares and Paul Parkerson, will be moved out in late June. Meares will be going on “a well-deserved sabbatical,” according to Bishop Zarama. Parkerson, the bishop’s liaison for the TLM in the diocese, will be moving to St. Mary, Mother of the Church parish in Garner, North Carolina. Parkerson was the first priest in the diocese to regularly offer the TLM following the indult of Pope John Paul II.
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The only parish in the diocese that will host the TLM every Sunday in future is Sacred Heart Church in Dunn, North Carolina, at 1:00 p.m.
Multiple LifeSiteNews requests for clarification from the Diocese of Raleigh went unanswered over several days.
Noting that the new pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Father Nicholas Cottrill, VF, has neither the knowledge nor the faculty to offer the TLM, Bishop Zarama said in his letter, “Like all change, this transition will bring both challenges and blessings. Thank you in advance for your understanding and support for Father Cottrill and for this development in the life of the parish.”
Bishop Zarama also explained that there were no other priests in the diocese who can offer the TLM to replace the current two priests.
“I will continue to work with Father Parkerson in his role as my Delegate for the Extraordinary Form to meet the needs of the faithful devoted to the usus antiquior according to the resources we have available and within the direction of our Holy Father, Pope Francis,” said Bishop Zarama.
Dr. Edward Kryn, a local Catholic, took issue with the characterizations outlined by the bishop in his letter. Kryn said there is “no evidence” that Meares requested a sabbatical. Kryn also said, “There are other priests who have offered the TLM in the past, and … there is one priest who is sitting at home who has offered it previously at St. Ann’s in Clayton and at St. Catherine of Siena, and his services are not being utilized.”
“Father Ian Van Heusen and Fr. T. Sparrow are not allowed to offer the TLM it and are assigned to other parishes,” Kryn added. “Father Don Maloney was sent home and was permitted to offer the TLM only for his parents.”
According to Kryn, Bishop Zarama allowed traditional rite funerals for the past year, and some parishioners went to the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) chapel for the other sacraments using the pre-1970 books.
In addition to a weekly Sunday TLM at 1:00 p.m., the Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish bulletin shows a weekly 7:00 p.m. TLM every Wednesday. Other sources show that the parish may have previously offered an additional Latin Mass during the week.
Another diocesan communique on its website, which appears to be out-of-date, shows 11 regularly-scheduled TLMs at five locations in the diocese.
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A diocesan spokesperson provided a list of parishes reportedly listing the TLM in the Raleigh diocese. Among those listed, there are only two other locations with the TLM in their bulletins. Those were St. Catherine of Siena in Wake Forest on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m., and Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh one Sunday per month at 4:30 p.m. — hardly what Pope John Paul II would have called “a wide and generous application” of his approval of the TLM for those who desired it.
“The Traditional Latin Mass has been, and continues to be, pivotal to my faith life,” said Dominic Dattolo, 20, a parishioner at Sacred Heart in Dunn. “I would be beyond heartbroken to lose the Mass that means so much to me.”
“The Traditional Latin Mass has encouraged me to learn more about the teachings of the Catholic Church,” said Madelyn Janelle, also a parishioner at Sacred Heart, who educates her eight children at home. “It has expanded my education and increased the practice of my faith and has also helped my children learn how to trust God while upholding tradition.”
For those Catholics seeking to attend regularly scheduled Latin Masses, the SSPX has two chapels in the diocese. The Traditional Latin Mass is offered at Old St. Mary’s Church in Goldsboro on the first and third Sundays at 5:00 p.m. The SSPX also offers the Mass on the second, fourth, and fifth Sundays at Holy Redeemer Church in Youngstown.
Respectfully contact Diocese of Raleigh spokesperson John Dornan at (984) 900-3418 to politely express your views and ask why the bishop, like some bishops in other dioceses, has not invited one of the traditional priestly societies to provide for his flock’s spiritual needs.