Bishop suppresses Mass in Latin in Parish of California, United States, to promote “unity”

In one of his final acts as a bishop of Monterey, California (United States), Mons. Daniel Garcia issued a carta by which the traditional Mass is suppressed in Latin (MTL) in the diocese “in order to strengthen our unity with the universal church” and “support (the) objective (of Pope Francis) to move towards a greater unity in the post -conciliar Roman rite.”

Garcia issued the letter addressed to the Mass community in Latin, located in the Church of the Sacred Heart in Hollister, California, on September 14, four days before installing as a new Bishop of Austin, Texas.

In the letter, Garcia expressed concern that the pastor of the Sacred Heart, Fr. Stephen Akers, can “dedicate all his attention to the parish as a whole instead of using his limited time with a small group of individuals who are not worshiping according to the ordinary (and unique) rite of the Latin Church”, given that the number of those who attend the “pre -conclusion” Mass is “very small.”

Garcia cited the Motu proprio Tradition of guards of Pope Francis, as well as the Letter “to bishops around the world” that accompanied him, which addressed “the rare situation” of the church “having two liturgies held in a single Latin rite.”

Garcia said that the Church “is leading us to a greater unity in the cult”, stating that St. Paul VI had “declared the new rite as an expression of the unity of the Church” reflected by “the unanimity of the parents of the (Vatican Council II)”, as well as by post -conscious documents.

The Prelate ordered Akers to stop celebrating the MTL after October 13 in the Church of the Sacred Heart.

The bishop said that he arrived at the decision after consulting with the Foreign Minister, the deacon David Ford, and the director of the court, Cecilia Brennan, who had visited the community of the Mass in Latin in Hollister in recent months.

He urged the community of Mass in Latin to “join in unity with the parish… when he met around the Lord’s table celebrating the rich Eucharistic sacrifice, every Sunday, which has been a great fruit of the Council” in order to “build the unity of which Pope León spoke at the Mass he celebrated at the beginning of his pontificate”, which called the Church to become “a ferment of harmony for humanity”.

Garcia was appointed Bishop of Austin on July 2 and settled on September 18.

Bishop Slawomir Szkredka was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Monterey on September 19.

Earlier this year, the Vatican granted a exemption from the MTL restrictions imposed by Tradition of guards.

The exemption, solicitated by him obispo Michael Sis On February 6, the Diocese of San Angelo, Texas was granted to the parish of Santa Margarita in Scotland.

No other exemption of this type has been informed by Pope Leo XIV since the beginning of his pontificate.

Akers, the parish priest of the Church of the Sacred Heart, declined to comment.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.