null / Credit: New Africa/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 29, 2025 / 14:42 pm (CNA).

A lawsuit filed in Wisconsin alleges that an employee of a Catholic Charities affiliate there stole millions of dollars as part of a yearslong scheme involving credit card fraud and fake invoices. 

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee said in the lawsuit, filed earlier this month in Wisconsin circuit court, that former employee Brandi Ellis “abused her authority and misappropriated millions of dollars” when serving in a variety of financial roles within the organization. 

Ellis allegedly worked as an accountant, an accounting manager, and eventually as a finance manager at the charity, with her employment taking place from February 2014 to May 2024. 

The suit alleges that Ellis paid “false invoices ostensibly reflecting work and/or services completed or provided by vendors” but which actually funneled money to vendors with “personal or professional connections” to Ellis. 

The accountant also allegedly used corporate credit cards to make personal purchases. 

The schemes each totaled “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” the suit alleges. 

In addition to suing its ex-accountant, the charity is also suing the Madison, Wisconsin-based financial services firm Baker Tilly over allegedly failing to identify the fraudulent activity as part of auditing services it provided to the Catholic organization. 

The firm should have recognized “goods and services that could not reasonably be in support of the plaintiff’s charitable mission,” the suit argues, including “Amazon Prime video rentals, Uber rides, Ticketmaster purchases, [and] casino purchases from MGM Grand.”

The accounting group “failed to recognize clearly fraudulent purchasing activity,” the suit alleges, and further relied on “internal documents generated by … Brandi Ellis” rather than independently verified third-party data. 

The suit seeks damages from both Ellis and the accounting firm.

null / Credit: New Africa/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 29, 2025 / 14:42 pm (CNA).

A lawsuit filed in Wisconsin alleges that an employee of a Catholic Charities affiliate there stole millions of dollars as part of a yearslong scheme involving credit card fraud and fake invoices. 

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee said in the lawsuit, filed earlier this month in Wisconsin circuit court, that former employee Brandi Ellis “abused her authority and misappropriated millions of dollars” when serving in a variety of financial roles within the organization. 

Ellis allegedly worked as an accountant, an accounting manager, and eventually as a finance manager at the charity, with her employment taking place from February 2014 to May 2024. 

The suit alleges that Ellis paid “false invoices ostensibly reflecting work and/or services completed or provided by vendors” but which actually funneled money to vendors with “personal or professional connections” to Ellis. 

The accountant also allegedly used corporate credit cards to make personal purchases. 

The schemes each totaled “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” the suit alleges. 

In addition to suing its ex-accountant, the charity is also suing the Madison, Wisconsin-based financial services firm Baker Tilly over allegedly failing to identify the fraudulent activity as part of auditing services it provided to the Catholic organization. 

The firm should have recognized “goods and services that could not reasonably be in support of the plaintiff’s charitable mission,” the suit argues, including “Amazon Prime video rentals, Uber rides, Ticketmaster purchases, [and] casino purchases from MGM Grand.”

The accounting group “failed to recognize clearly fraudulent purchasing activity,” the suit alleges, and further relied on “internal documents generated by … Brandi Ellis” rather than independently verified third-party data. 

The suit seeks damages from both Ellis and the accounting firm.

Father Mike Schmitz and Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker at the Courage Under Fire Gala held in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 23, 2025. / Credit: EWTN Screenshot/Francesca Fenton/CNA

Nashville, Tenn., May 29, 2025 / 14:12 pm (CNA).

Catholic home schooling families from across the country joined popular Catholic speakers in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 23 for an evening of camaraderie supporting Regina Caeli Academy, an accredited pre-K–12 classical home school hybrid academy founded in 2003. 

The Courage Under Fire Gala featured popular priest and podcaster Father Mike Schmitz, Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker, political commentators and media hosts Matt Walsh and Michael Knowles, actor Kirk Cameron, and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.  

Regina Caeli Academy now has 28 centers in 17 states and offers home-schooled students the ability to attend in-person classes two days a week. The academy prides itself on its classical curriculum.

Butker joined the academy’s board of directors two years ago and said that before joining he was unaware of the program but now calls it “a beautiful model.”

“I didn’t know there was a hybrid model that home-schoolers could be a part of and they can have a community and be able to grow in the Catholic faith,” he told CNA in an interview on the red carpet at the gala.

“It’s just a beautiful model and I really do believe that if more children are made aware of Regina Caeli and more parents are empowered to be the primary educators so much so that they become the actual main educators and do that through home schooling — I think we will see a big change in our society for the better,” he added. 

Catholic couple Deena and Tony Heller have four children who attend the Regina Caeli Academy and will be entering their third year in the program this fall. The Hellers told CNA that they value the ability for their children to still have the “school experience” by attending class twice a week; however, they remain their primary educators at home. 

“The community, the support, the people … it really makes it such a special experience for our kids,” Tony Heller said. “It’s just so unique and so different compared to just traditional home schooling or traditional primary education.”

The couple added that the traditional Catholic values of the program greatly impacted their decision to enroll their children in the program as well as the realization that they are “a major driver in [their children’s] education,” he said. 

At the gala, Butker addressed the attendees on the topic of parents as the primary educators for their children. He encouraged parents to “make sure that they are taking ownership of laying that foundation for their child.”

“I think education starts in the home — whether you send them to a parochial school or traditional school, a public school or home school — regardless the schooling of the child begins in the home,” he said, adding: “I think we can shape society by shaping our children, one child at a time, one family at a time.”

Schmitz, who was also a featured speaker at the event, also offered parents advice to consider when thinking about their children’s education. The popular Catholic priest and podcaster gave the example of his own college experience. He shared that while it was a good school with good people, and it was Catholic, he thought that he could take in whatever they were teaching “in an unguarded way,” he told CNA.

“I didn’t realize that no, you have to be on your guard in some ways in some places,” he explained. “I think public schools are very similar. I think sometimes Catholic schools can be very similar as well where you can’t necessarily just assume the goodwill — not that people [have] evil intent — but also the fact that we don’t all have the same perspective or all the same way of looking at the world.”

He added: “I think that when parents are aware that we have well-intentioned people in a lot of different environments who aren’t necessarily advocates of truth as we understand it, objective truth, then a lot of bad ideas can get in and infect our minds and hearts. And so even to be aware of that goes a long way.”

In 2024, a report from the Johns Hopkins School of Education Homeschool Research Lab found an increasing number of students being home-schooled in the United States. Butker and Schmitz offered their perspectives as to why they believe society is seeing this trend. 

“I think really from COVID, I think people started to ask questions about all of the things that they are told,” Butker said. “And I think people are questioning like, ‘Yes, I’m told this. I’m told to do that. But do I feel comfortable doing that? Does that pass the gut test?’”

“I think a lot of people have looked at home schooling in the past and thought, ‘Wow, that’s weird. That’s different. I would never do that,’” he added. “But when you start thinking about parents as the primary educators and being able to really pour into your children and lay that foundation for them, it really becomes this attractive model that I think more people are looking into and they’re taking ownership of laying that foundation for their children.”

“I think it’s a beautiful thing and if we can get more parents that are taking pride in forming their children, educating them, I think we’re going to have a better society, we’re going to have better children, and ideally more virtuous and stronger soldiers for Christ.”

Schmitz pointed out that what was once a “nice alternative” has become “almost a necessity.”

“If I’m actually going to keep my child in a place rooted in truth and rooted in Christ then in some ways — and I don’t want to be overdramatic about this — but in some ways, I can be kind of feeding them to the wolves if I send them out in a way that’s unguarded,” Schmitz said.  

“Now, again, there’s plenty of well-intentioned and good people in public education as well, but at the same time I can’t count on everyone being in that place. So I think parents are more aware than ever that this alternative option is going to be more than just an option but maybe even essential.”

Through the fundraising done at the Courage Under Fire Gala, Regina Caeli Academy is able to expand its mission and bring its curriculum to more students across the country. Its centers can currently be found in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Tennessee, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.

Father Mike Schmitz and Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker at the Courage Under Fire Gala held in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 23, 2025. / Credit: EWTN Screenshot/Francesca Fenton/CNA

Nashville, Tenn., May 29, 2025 / 14:12 pm (CNA).

Catholic home schooling families from across the country joined popular Catholic speakers in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 23 for an evening of camaraderie supporting Regina Caeli Academy, an accredited pre-K–12 classical home school hybrid academy founded in 2003. 

The Courage Under Fire Gala featured popular priest and podcaster Father Mike Schmitz, Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker, political commentators and media hosts Matt Walsh and Michael Knowles, actor Kirk Cameron, and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.  

Regina Caeli Academy now has 28 centers in 17 states and offers home-schooled students the ability to attend in-person classes two days a week. The academy prides itself on its classical curriculum.

Butker joined the academy’s board of directors two years ago and said that before joining he was unaware of the program but now calls it “a beautiful model.”

“I didn’t know there was a hybrid model that home-schoolers could be a part of and they can have a community and be able to grow in the Catholic faith,” he told CNA in an interview on the red carpet at the gala.

“It’s just a beautiful model and I really do believe that if more children are made aware of Regina Caeli and more parents are empowered to be the primary educators so much so that they become the actual main educators and do that through home schooling — I think we will see a big change in our society for the better,” he added. 

Catholic couple Deena and Tony Heller have four children who attend the Regina Caeli Academy and will be entering their third year in the program this fall. The Hellers told CNA that they value the ability for their children to still have the “school experience” by attending class twice a week; however, they remain their primary educators at home. 

“The community, the support, the people … it really makes it such a special experience for our kids,” Tony Heller said. “It’s just so unique and so different compared to just traditional home schooling or traditional primary education.”

The couple added that the traditional Catholic values of the program greatly impacted their decision to enroll their children in the program as well as the realization that they are “a major driver in [their children’s] education,” he said. 

At the gala, Butker addressed the attendees on the topic of parents as the primary educators for their children. He encouraged parents to “make sure that they are taking ownership of laying that foundation for their child.”

“I think education starts in the home — whether you send them to a parochial school or traditional school, a public school or home school — regardless the schooling of the child begins in the home,” he said, adding: “I think we can shape society by shaping our children, one child at a time, one family at a time.”

Schmitz, who was also a featured speaker at the event, also offered parents advice to consider when thinking about their children’s education. The popular Catholic priest and podcaster gave the example of his own college experience. He shared that while it was a good school with good people, and it was Catholic, he thought that he could take in whatever they were teaching “in an unguarded way,” he told CNA.

“I didn’t realize that no, you have to be on your guard in some ways in some places,” he explained. “I think public schools are very similar. I think sometimes Catholic schools can be very similar as well where you can’t necessarily just assume the goodwill — not that people [have] evil intent — but also the fact that we don’t all have the same perspective or all the same way of looking at the world.”

He added: “I think that when parents are aware that we have well-intentioned people in a lot of different environments who aren’t necessarily advocates of truth as we understand it, objective truth, then a lot of bad ideas can get in and infect our minds and hearts. And so even to be aware of that goes a long way.”

In 2024, a report from the Johns Hopkins School of Education Homeschool Research Lab found an increasing number of students being home-schooled in the United States. Butker and Schmitz offered their perspectives as to why they believe society is seeing this trend. 

“I think really from COVID, I think people started to ask questions about all of the things that they are told,” Butker said. “And I think people are questioning like, ‘Yes, I’m told this. I’m told to do that. But do I feel comfortable doing that? Does that pass the gut test?’”

“I think a lot of people have looked at home schooling in the past and thought, ‘Wow, that’s weird. That’s different. I would never do that,’” he added. “But when you start thinking about parents as the primary educators and being able to really pour into your children and lay that foundation for them, it really becomes this attractive model that I think more people are looking into and they’re taking ownership of laying that foundation for their children.”

“I think it’s a beautiful thing and if we can get more parents that are taking pride in forming their children, educating them, I think we’re going to have a better society, we’re going to have better children, and ideally more virtuous and stronger soldiers for Christ.”

Schmitz pointed out that what was once a “nice alternative” has become “almost a necessity.”

“If I’m actually going to keep my child in a place rooted in truth and rooted in Christ then in some ways — and I don’t want to be overdramatic about this — but in some ways, I can be kind of feeding them to the wolves if I send them out in a way that’s unguarded,” Schmitz said.  

“Now, again, there’s plenty of well-intentioned and good people in public education as well, but at the same time I can’t count on everyone being in that place. So I think parents are more aware than ever that this alternative option is going to be more than just an option but maybe even essential.”

Through the fundraising done at the Courage Under Fire Gala, Regina Caeli Academy is able to expand its mission and bring its curriculum to more students across the country. Its centers can currently be found in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Tennessee, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.

null / Credit: asiandelight/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 29, 2025 / 13:42 pm (CNA).

The Catholic bishops of Washington state filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging a new law that requires priests to report child abuse learned during the sacrament of confession or face jail time and fines. 

The suit, filed by the Archdiocese of Seattle and the dioceses of Spokane and Yakima, argues that the law violates the free exercise of religion protected by the First Amendment by infringing on the sacred seal of confession. The suit also claims the law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment as well as the Washington Constitution.

Signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson on May 2, the law goes into effect July 27 and adds clergy to Washington’s list of mandatory reporters for child abuse but explicitly denies them the “privileged communication” exemption granted to other professionals, such as nurses and therapists. 

Priests who fail to report abuse learned in confession could face up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. Ferguson, a Catholic, defended the measure earlier this month, saying he is “very familiar” with confession but deemed the law “important legislation” to protect children.

In the lawsuit, filed in federal district court, the bishops emphasize the Catholic Church’s commitment to child protection while defending the inviolability of the confessional seal. 

“Consistent with the Roman Catholic Church’s efforts to eradicate the societal scourge of child abuse, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle and the dioceses of Yakima and Spokane have each adopted and implemented within their respective dioceses policies that go further in the protection of children than the current requirements of Washington law on reporting child abuse and neglect,” the lawsuit states. 

It notes that these policies mandate reporting suspected abuse by Church personnel, including clergy, except when information is learned solely in confession, which is protected by “more than 2,000 years of Church doctrine.”

Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly in a statement earlier this month vowed that clergy would not break the seal of confession, even if it meant jail time. “I want to assure you that your shepherds, bishops and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession — even to the point of going to jail,” Daly said in his message to the faithful. “The sacrament of penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane.”

Seattle Archbishop Paul D. Etienne echoed this stance, citing canon law, which forbids priests from betraying a penitent’s confession under penalty of excommunication. Etienne referenced St. Peter’s words in Acts 5:29 — “We must obey God rather than men” — to underscore the Church’s position.

The Washington State Catholic Conference affirmed its commitment to child safety while defending the sanctity of confession, urging Catholics to trust that “their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential, and protected by the law of the Church.”

The U.S. Department of Justice, under President Donald Trump, launched an investigation into the law on May 6, calling it an “anti-Catholic” measure. U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon described it as a “legislative attack on the Catholic Church and its sacrament of confession,” arguing it singles out clergy by denying them privileges afforded to other professionals.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the nonprofit First Liberty Institute, and the WilmerHale law firm are representing the Washington bishops.

As of the time of publication Ferguson’s office had not responded to CNA’s request for comment.

null / Credit: asiandelight/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 29, 2025 / 13:42 pm (CNA).

The Catholic bishops of Washington state filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging a new law that requires priests to report child abuse learned during the sacrament of confession or face jail time and fines. 

The suit, filed by the Archdiocese of Seattle and the dioceses of Spokane and Yakima, argues that the law violates the free exercise of religion protected by the First Amendment by infringing on the sacred seal of confession. The suit also claims the law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment as well as the Washington Constitution.

Signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson on May 2, the law goes into effect July 27 and adds clergy to Washington’s list of mandatory reporters for child abuse but explicitly denies them the “privileged communication” exemption granted to other professionals, such as nurses and therapists. 

Priests who fail to report abuse learned in confession could face up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. Ferguson, a Catholic, defended the measure earlier this month, saying he is “very familiar” with confession but deemed the law “important legislation” to protect children.

In the lawsuit, filed in federal district court, the bishops emphasize the Catholic Church’s commitment to child protection while defending the inviolability of the confessional seal. 

“Consistent with the Roman Catholic Church’s efforts to eradicate the societal scourge of child abuse, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle and the dioceses of Yakima and Spokane have each adopted and implemented within their respective dioceses policies that go further in the protection of children than the current requirements of Washington law on reporting child abuse and neglect,” the lawsuit states. 

It notes that these policies mandate reporting suspected abuse by Church personnel, including clergy, except when information is learned solely in confession, which is protected by “more than 2,000 years of Church doctrine.”

Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly in a statement earlier this month vowed that clergy would not break the seal of confession, even if it meant jail time. “I want to assure you that your shepherds, bishops and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession — even to the point of going to jail,” Daly said in his message to the faithful. “The sacrament of penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane.”

Seattle Archbishop Paul D. Etienne echoed this stance, citing canon law, which forbids priests from betraying a penitent’s confession under penalty of excommunication. Etienne referenced St. Peter’s words in Acts 5:29 — “We must obey God rather than men” — to underscore the Church’s position.

The Washington State Catholic Conference affirmed its commitment to child safety while defending the sanctity of confession, urging Catholics to trust that “their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential, and protected by the law of the Church.”

The U.S. Department of Justice, under President Donald Trump, launched an investigation into the law on May 6, calling it an “anti-Catholic” measure. U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon described it as a “legislative attack on the Catholic Church and its sacrament of confession,” arguing it singles out clergy by denying them privileges afforded to other professionals.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the nonprofit First Liberty Institute, and the WilmerHale law firm are representing the Washington bishops.

As of the time of publication Ferguson’s office had not responded to CNA’s request for comment.

null / Credit: janews/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 29, 2025 / 13:12 pm (CNA).

A California consulting firm that handles data of some clergy abuse cases says it paid hackers a ransom to delete data involving abuse survivors after a security breach earlier this year. 

The Emeryville, California-based Berkeley Research Group (BRG) offers corporate finance and economic consulting, including to Catholic dioceses in bankruptcy proceedings. In March the company suffered an incursion that exposed data of Catholic clergy abuse survivors in nearly a dozen bankruptcy lawsuits. 

Regulators were only informed of the breach at the end of April. The U.S. government earlier this month demanded the company provide information on each affected case as well as clarify why the company “delayed two months” before notifying trustees and whether or not the company has contacted federal law enforcement over the breach. 

In a letter last week, attorneys representing the Berkeley group responded to the government’s query, stipulating that the company “takes this matter very seriously” and that its response “has been robust and remains ongoing.”

Among other disclosures in the letter, the attorneys said that after the hacking incursion BRG “reached a settlement with the threat actor after careful consideration and with a primary focus on protecting the subjects of any implicated data.” 

The firm “received a destruction log and a representation by the threat actor that any data exfiltrated during the incident was deleted and will not be disclosed,” the letter states. 

The company said it has further utilized “experts” to monitor the internet, including the “dark web,” in order to “detect the dissemination of impacted data.” 

“Those experts have not identified any information suggesting that the threat actor has breached its representation,” the letter says. 

The company said there was no indication that clergy abuse victims were specifically targeted by the hacker. 

“The incident affected data across BRG, including many clients and data having nothing to do with the subject cases, or any bankruptcy matter,” the letter states. 

Addressing the delay between the discovery of the data breach and the notification of affected clients, the letter states that there were “numerous actions required before BRG could fully define the extent of the incident and understand its impact,” including a cataloging of the data stolen by the hackers. 

Among the bankruptcy cases affected by the data breach include those of the archdioceses of Baltimore and New Orleans as well as the dioceses of Albany and Rochester, among others.

The company is also handling cases involving the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Diocese of Wilmington, the Diocese of Camden, and several others, though it said in its letter this month that based on its review, “no data was exfiltrated [in those cases] that would warrant disclosure.”

The Berkeley group “does not intend to seek recovery of costs of the incident investigation or ransom payment” from its clients, the letter states.

null / Credit: janews/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 29, 2025 / 13:12 pm (CNA).

A California consulting firm that handles data of some clergy abuse cases says it paid hackers a ransom to delete data involving abuse survivors after a security breach earlier this year. 

The Emeryville, California-based Berkeley Research Group (BRG) offers corporate finance and economic consulting, including to Catholic dioceses in bankruptcy proceedings. In March the company suffered an incursion that exposed data of Catholic clergy abuse survivors in nearly a dozen bankruptcy lawsuits. 

Regulators were only informed of the breach at the end of April. The U.S. government earlier this month demanded the company provide information on each affected case as well as clarify why the company “delayed two months” before notifying trustees and whether or not the company has contacted federal law enforcement over the breach. 

In a letter last week, attorneys representing the Berkeley group responded to the government’s query, stipulating that the company “takes this matter very seriously” and that its response “has been robust and remains ongoing.”

Among other disclosures in the letter, the attorneys said that after the hacking incursion BRG “reached a settlement with the threat actor after careful consideration and with a primary focus on protecting the subjects of any implicated data.” 

The firm “received a destruction log and a representation by the threat actor that any data exfiltrated during the incident was deleted and will not be disclosed,” the letter states. 

The company said it has further utilized “experts” to monitor the internet, including the “dark web,” in order to “detect the dissemination of impacted data.” 

“Those experts have not identified any information suggesting that the threat actor has breached its representation,” the letter says. 

The company said there was no indication that clergy abuse victims were specifically targeted by the hacker. 

“The incident affected data across BRG, including many clients and data having nothing to do with the subject cases, or any bankruptcy matter,” the letter states. 

Addressing the delay between the discovery of the data breach and the notification of affected clients, the letter states that there were “numerous actions required before BRG could fully define the extent of the incident and understand its impact,” including a cataloging of the data stolen by the hackers. 

Among the bankruptcy cases affected by the data breach include those of the archdioceses of Baltimore and New Orleans as well as the dioceses of Albany and Rochester, among others.

The company is also handling cases involving the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Diocese of Wilmington, the Diocese of Camden, and several others, though it said in its letter this month that based on its review, “no data was exfiltrated [in those cases] that would warrant disclosure.”

The Berkeley group “does not intend to seek recovery of costs of the incident investigation or ransom payment” from its clients, the letter states.

null / Credit: PIGAMA/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 29, 2025 / 12:42 pm (CNA).

A leaked draft from Charlotte, North Carolina, Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv, shows the prelate’s far-reaching and highly detailed intent to crack down on what he describes as “older liturgical practices” in order to bring about “a more uniform celebration of the Mass” in the diocese. 

The lengthy letter was first published by the blog Rorate Caeli; officials with the diocese subsequently confirmed the authenticity of the letter to the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner.

The letter, which references Pope Francis in the present tense, appears to have been written prior to the late pontiff’s death last month. 

Its leak, meanwhile, comes after the Charlotte Diocese announced that it would significantly restrict the practice of the Traditional Latin Mass, limiting it to a single chapel in what Martin said was a bid to “promote the concord and unity of the Church.”

Regulations on altar candles, women’s veils, and more

The document details an extensive list of behaviors and practices that Martin said would be tightly regulated or else abolished going forward in an effort at “purifying and unifying the celebration of the Mass.”

Among the directives: Celebrants are to place candles “arranged around the altar” during Mass “since placing them on the altar will always obstruct the vision of the faithful.”

As well, priests are directed to not offer “vesting or devesting prayers” either before or after Mass, as there is “no option given in the current liturgical books” for such practices. Rather, “prayerful preparation before Mass and thanksgiving after Mass is to take place in some other way.”

Women who choose to wear veils during Mass “are not to do so when they are assisting in any official capacity,” such as when lectoring or cantoring, the document states. 

Parishes will be forbidden from using bells to signal the start of Mass, the directives say; rather, a “verbal welcome” by the lector “followed by an indication of the hymn to be sung and an invitation to stand” should be normative at all Masses. 

At times the document seems to run afoul of other, authoritative Church directives. Martin at one point writes that the Church “does not … call for the Latin language to be used widely in the liturgy,” and that the ancient language “diminishes the role of the laity in the Mass.” Yet guidance from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops explicitly states that “care should be taken to foster the role of Latin in the liturgy,” with the bishops even going so far to state that singers and choir directors should “deepen their familiarity with the Latin language.” 

The bishop’s order that candles are “always to be arranged around the altar,” meanwhile, explicitly cites the General Instruction on the Roman Missal (GIRM), but the relevant portion of that document does not forbid placing candles at the front of the altar. 

The intensively detailed list has drawn criticism and backlash from some commentators. Matthew Hazell, a British liturgy scholar, told the Register that Martin’s perspective was consistent with what Pope Benedict XVI famously described as a “hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture.” 

“Rather than allow the novus ordo to be celebrated in a manner in keeping with its own rubrics and with the Church’s tradition, Bishop Martin seems to see it as an entirely new creation that cannot even be seen to have anything in common with what came before,” Hazell told the Register.

Father Paul Hedman, a priest from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, similarly criticized the directives, writing on X that the document appears to be “banning things explicitly allowed in the GIRM and explicitly called for in Vatican II.”

“He denigrates the practice of using water and wine for purification of the vessels,” Hedman wrote, but the GIRM “explicitly allows this.” 

The bishop “presumes the ability to regulate the private prayer of the priest before Mass,” the priest wrote further. “This is simply ridiculous and — I do not use this [word] lightly — tyrannical.”

Though the guidelines have generated intense debate and criticism, the diocese told the Register that the document was “an early draft” and is still being debated by diocesan leadership. 

“It represented a starting point to update our liturgical norms and methods of catechesis for receiving the Eucharist,” a diocesan spokeswoman said, adding that the directives will be “thoroughly reviewed” prior to their official promulgation.

null / Credit: PIGAMA/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, May 29, 2025 / 12:42 pm (CNA).

A leaked draft from Charlotte, North Carolina, Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv, shows the prelate’s far-reaching and highly detailed intent to crack down on what he describes as “older liturgical practices” in order to bring about “a more uniform celebration of the Mass” in the diocese. 

The lengthy letter was first published by the blog Rorate Caeli; officials with the diocese subsequently confirmed the authenticity of the letter to the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner.

The letter, which references Pope Francis in the present tense, appears to have been written prior to the late pontiff’s death last month. 

Its leak, meanwhile, comes after the Charlotte Diocese announced that it would significantly restrict the practice of the Traditional Latin Mass, limiting it to a single chapel in what Martin said was a bid to “promote the concord and unity of the Church.”

Regulations on altar candles, women’s veils, and more

The document details an extensive list of behaviors and practices that Martin said would be tightly regulated or else abolished going forward in an effort at “purifying and unifying the celebration of the Mass.”

Among the directives: Celebrants are to place candles “arranged around the altar” during Mass “since placing them on the altar will always obstruct the vision of the faithful.”

As well, priests are directed to not offer “vesting or devesting prayers” either before or after Mass, as there is “no option given in the current liturgical books” for such practices. Rather, “prayerful preparation before Mass and thanksgiving after Mass is to take place in some other way.”

Women who choose to wear veils during Mass “are not to do so when they are assisting in any official capacity,” such as when lectoring or cantoring, the document states. 

Parishes will be forbidden from using bells to signal the start of Mass, the directives say; rather, a “verbal welcome” by the lector “followed by an indication of the hymn to be sung and an invitation to stand” should be normative at all Masses. 

At times the document seems to run afoul of other, authoritative Church directives. Martin at one point writes that the Church “does not … call for the Latin language to be used widely in the liturgy,” and that the ancient language “diminishes the role of the laity in the Mass.” Yet guidance from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops explicitly states that “care should be taken to foster the role of Latin in the liturgy,” with the bishops even going so far to state that singers and choir directors should “deepen their familiarity with the Latin language.” 

The bishop’s order that candles are “always to be arranged around the altar,” meanwhile, explicitly cites the General Instruction on the Roman Missal (GIRM), but the relevant portion of that document does not forbid placing candles at the front of the altar. 

The intensively detailed list has drawn criticism and backlash from some commentators. Matthew Hazell, a British liturgy scholar, told the Register that Martin’s perspective was consistent with what Pope Benedict XVI famously described as a “hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture.” 

“Rather than allow the novus ordo to be celebrated in a manner in keeping with its own rubrics and with the Church’s tradition, Bishop Martin seems to see it as an entirely new creation that cannot even be seen to have anything in common with what came before,” Hazell told the Register.

Father Paul Hedman, a priest from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, similarly criticized the directives, writing on X that the document appears to be “banning things explicitly allowed in the GIRM and explicitly called for in Vatican II.”

“He denigrates the practice of using water and wine for purification of the vessels,” Hedman wrote, but the GIRM “explicitly allows this.” 

The bishop “presumes the ability to regulate the private prayer of the priest before Mass,” the priest wrote further. “This is simply ridiculous and — I do not use this [word] lightly — tyrannical.”

Though the guidelines have generated intense debate and criticism, the diocese told the Register that the document was “an early draft” and is still being debated by diocesan leadership. 

“It represented a starting point to update our liturgical norms and methods of catechesis for receiving the Eucharist,” a diocesan spokeswoman said, adding that the directives will be “thoroughly reviewed” prior to their official promulgation.