The Silence of Leo: Justice, the Latin Mass, and the Deepening Fracture within the Church

Knoxville and the Vatican’s Double Standard

In a development that has left many faithful Catholics reeling, the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, has reportedly confirmed that the Vatican has ordered the termination of all diocesan celebrations of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). The news marks yet another instance of diocesan-level closures following similar moves in Detroit, Charlotte, and Monterey. Each case traces its origin to the controversial 2021 motu proprio Traditionis custodes of Pope Francis, which sought to restrict the pre-conciliar liturgy in diocesan life.

What seems increasingly clear is that this is not so much about the liturgy: It is about the eradication of Catholics who believe what the Church has always taught. Because it is these Catholics who tend to gravitate towards the Traditional Liturgy and they raise their families with the same values (as recent surveys have reinforced). While Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly emphasised that “working for peace requires acting justly,” and has made overt gestures toward reconciliation, such as permitting the celebration of the TLM within St Peter’s Basilica and meeting personally with Cardinal Burke, the latest decision from Rome appears to contradict both his words and his actions. It raises a deeply troubling question: how can the restriction of faithful lay Catholics’ access to the sacraments be an act of justice, and why is this suppression being prioritised when so many more urgent pastoral concerns afflict the Church?

The contradiction could hardly be more striking. Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbour. To deprive Catholics of the Mass, the central act of divine worship, is not a secondary or bureaucratic matter; it is a wound to the very heart of ecclesial life. Those who attend the TLM are not rebels or separatists, but men and women who seek to be faithful to the Church as they have received her. They give their time, their devotion, and their financial support to diocesan life, often forming thriving communities of prayer and service. To cast them aside, to tell them that their devotion is no longer welcome, is to commit an injustice of the gravest kind.