Apostolate For the Advocacy of the Rights of the Faithful in the Diocese of Charlotte
“The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.” c. 212 §2
Faithful Advocate is a group of the Faithful working in consultation with Canon lawyers to advocate for the religious rights of Catholics living in the Diocese of Charlotte.
Please Continue to Fast and Pray!
A Continuous Letter-Writing option
Recourse to the Hierarchy
Updated October 1st, 2025
Suggested next steps for the faithful in the Diocese of Charlotte as the October 2nd date draws near…
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.
(The faithful in the Archdiocese of Detroit and elsewhere are advised to consider similar measures)
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 preventing the unfortunate cancellation of 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.
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 their desire that an extension of the permissions for the Traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese of Charlotte be granted.
It can also be expressed that the faithful are left dumbfounded that Bishop Michael Martin refuses to ask Rome for this extension. This decision of the Bishop is disheartening to the faithful, appears to have been made without proper justification, and was made without taking the time to explain it properly to the Faithful.
As a result, we are now asking for this extension in our own names.
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 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
New Initiative for REcourse against a Decree
NEW: (Brief)On the False Claims that the TLM is Divisive
Letters may be emailed or mailed. Registered mail will provide confirmation of receipt and date of receipt.
October 1st, 2025
Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower
Regarding The Recent Protocol Letter of Bishop Martin announcing
the chapel of the Little Flower
On Friday, September 26th, Bishop Martin issued a Protocol letter to announce the details of the new TLM Chapel in Mooresville. This Protocol letter has raised concerns among the faithful, priests, and canon lawyers. You may read it here. It was read before the homily by the four pastors of the parishes where the TLM has been offered in the Diocese.
The glaring issue, which is the subject of this call to seek Recourse against the Bishop’s Protocol, is the fact that the Chapel was established in a manner that insufficiently provides for the number of adherents of the Traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese, something called for in the Traditionis Custodes document of Pope Francis.
The faithful can reasonably argue that the place established by the Bishop fails to meet the requirements of Traditionis Custodes due to its great distance from the adherents to the Traditional Latin Mass and due to the size of the chapel itself, which is clearly insufficient to handle the size of the groups who are known to adhere to the Traditional Latin Mass.
Traditionis Custodes, in Art. 3, § 2, says, “[The Bishop] is to designate one or more locations where the faithful adherents of these groups may gather for the eucharistic celebration.” However, the Bishop admits in his Protocol Letter, “…the chapel is not meant to be able to accommodate all who are currently attending the TLM in their respective parishes.” Further, he states, “I encourage you to see Little Flower Chapel as you would a shrine chapel that you might visit for Mass on occasion while participating regularly in the life of your registered parish.”
It is clear from the very words of the Bishop that his Protocol does not fulfill the intentions of Traditionis Custodes, for the “faithful adherents of these groups” can hardly “gather for the eucharistic celebration” if they are unable to reach (due to the distance from their homes) or even enter the building (due to its restricted size).
Therefore, the faithful should now send letters to the Bishop asking him to reconsider his plan to remove all adherents of the Traditional Latin Mass from their parishes and isolate them to this small Chapel.
In Your Letters
Please be kind but direct in your letter. Ask him to reconsider his plan and rescind this latest Protocol, leaving in place the Traditional Latin Masses as they had been prior to October 2nd and asking for an extension of the permissions from Rome for the offering of the Traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese.
Here is the official process for Initiating Recourse against an Administrative Decree.
View the full description of this process HERE.
As a reminder, this process is time-sensitive. Letters must be received by the Bishop by Friday, October 10th. Further, after the Bishop receives your letter, he has thirty days to reply. If he does, in the negative, or if thirty days pass without a reply, you must then write to the Dicastery for Divine Worship through the Nuncio within fifteen working days.
Please also remember to pray and fast often for our Diocese, that God may intervene.
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The Mission of Faithful Advocate
Education
This Apostolate is dedicated to informing the Faithful in the Diocese of Charlotte of their religious rights as guaranteed by the Church and protected by Canon Law.
Prayer
By encouraging the faithful of the Diocese to take up the call to “pray and fast,” this Apostolate hopes that God will look favorably on our efforts to maintain the Sacred Traditions of the Holy Catholic Faith in the Diocese of Charlotte.
Organization
Through a pious and hope-filled effort, this Apostolate is dedicated to helping organize the Faithful of the Diocese in order to give a unified response to any concerns that may emerge regarding the respect for our religious rights.
“I will not leave you orphans”
Holy Mother Church is our Recourse
The Rights of the Faithful
We must know our religious rights and desire that they be respected by the Bishops who are our spiritual fathers and shepherds.
The Catholic Church, in which dwells the Kingdom of God on earth, is governed by rules. Many of these are to ensure open access to the spiritual means God has provided for the successful sojourn of His Faithful toward eternity. These rules are for the more complete dispensation of the graces entrusted to her by the Divine Master, Jesus Christ Our Lord. Learn your rights and let the Bishops and priests know that these must be honored.
“Our Help is in the Name of the Lord”
Our Union with Christ obtains the divine assistance
“The Prayer of a Righteous man…”
We must live in accordance with our spiritual dignity in order to defend our Church and convert the hardened hearts of those who go astray.
By virtue of our Baptism, we are made true members of the Mystical Body of Christ. As a result, we cooperate with Christ in His work of salvation. By His gracious will, Christ our God has chosen to depend on us for the spreading of His Kingdom and for the salvation of souls. Our prayers and penances are powerful means of interceding with God and obtaining graces. Learn more about the power of prayer by which we may obtain from Our Lord the graces our Diocese desperately needs.