Catholic World News
Chicago archdiocese, Georgia diocese to shut traditionalist churches

July 18, 2022
Cardinal Blase Cupich has ordered the priests of the traditionalist Institute of Christ the King to stop celebrating the Tridentine Mass in Chicago by August 1. And in Savannah, Georgia, Bishop Stephen Parkes has announced that permission for the traditional liturgy in three parish churches will be withdrawn in May 2023—saying that he is acting on instructions from the Vatican.

Cardinal Cupich is apparently withdrawing the faculties of the priests of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP) on August 1, so that they will not be authorized to celebrate Mass or administer the sacraments. Neither the Chicago archdiocese nor the ICKSP has issued a public statement about the cardinal’s decision, but multiple sources have confirmed it.

The situation in Chicago is complicated by the fact that the ICKSP owns title to the church—the shrine of Christ the King Sovereign Priest—where its priests have celebrated the traditional Mass. The site is also the provincial headquarters for the traditionalist group, which has over 120 priests at work around the world, dedicated to the use of the traditional liturgy.

Cardinal Cupich reportedly made the decision to withdraw faculties from the ICKSP priests when they declined to celebrate the Novus Ordo liturgy once a month.

In Savannah, Bishop Parkes issued a statement on July 15 saying that three diocesan parishes would cease to offer the traditional liturgy after May 20, 2023. Also, a Tridentine Mass that had been offered at the diocesan cathedral will be discontinued after August 7 of this year.

Bishop Parkes recalled that after the publication of Traditionis Custodes he had announced that the tradition liturgy could be continued until further notice in the parishes where it was being celebrated. In his July 15 statement he said that he had then written to the Congregation for Divine Worship, seeking permission for the continuation of that policy. It was the Congregation’s decision to curtail the traditionalist celebrations.