California bishop informs Traditional Latin Mass order it’s no longer needed in diocese

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California bishop informs Traditional Latin Mass order it’s no longer needed in diocese
Oakland Bishop Michael Barber said in a statement that the diocese has 'enough properly trained clergy to provide the Traditional Latin Mass to the faithful.'



St. Margaret Mary Church in Oakland, California
YouTube/Screenshot

Mar 31, 2025
OAKLAND, California (LifeSiteNews [slightly adapted, not all hyperlinks included from original]) — A California bishop asked that the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP) leave his diocese.

Bishop Michael Barber, S.J., announced that, effective April 20, the ICKSP, which has been in the Diocese of Oakland for 20 years, will need to leave, stressing that there are enough priests in the diocese who can celebrate the TLM. Since the promulgation of Traditionis Custodes, the Institute has faced persecution in some dioceses.

“Since the Oakland diocese has enough properly trained clergy to provide the Traditional Latin Mass to the faithful, Bishop Barber has requested the Institute of Christ the King-Sovereign Priest leave St. Margaret Mary to find a more suitable setting for their apostolate,” the statement read.

The ICKSP currently has an apostolate at St. Margaret Mary Church, which it shares with diocesan clergy who also offer the Ordinary form of the Mass.

“I am grateful to the Institute of Christ the King-Sovereign Priest for serving the needs of the Traditional Latin Mass Community in the Diocese of Oakland since 2005,” Bishop Barber said in the statement. “We now have more than enough diocesan priests able to fulfill this very worthy spiritual need.”

“We pray for God’s blessings on the Institute in their pursuit of this new chapter in their ministry,” he added.

LifeSiteNews reached out to the ICKSP’s Oakland apostolate for a response to the bishop’s decision but did not immediately receive a response. LifeSite also reached out to the Diocese of Oakland asking why the Institute should be removed after two decades in the diocese but had not received a reply before publication time.

It’s worth noting that Barber has a history of affirming Church teaching. He supported San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone in 2022 after he barred then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi from receiving the Holy Eucharist due to her pro-abortion stance. In 2023, Barber and Cordileone issued a pastoral letter condemning gender ideology.

Pope Francis promulgated the controversial motu proprio Traditionis Custodes in July 2021. The document abrogated the universal permission for the celebration of the TLM granted by Pope Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum and gave the bishops the power to restrict its celebration within their dioceses.

Since the initial promulgation of Traditionis Custodes, the Vatican has implemented further restrictive measures on the ancient liturgy. In December 2021, the Vatican issued a responsa stating that diocesan clergy are barred from celebrating Old Rite sacraments and must be willing to concelebrate the Novus Ordo. In February 2023, Francis issued a rescript restricting bishops’ ability to dispense priests from the restrictions of Traditionis Custodes.

Since the motu proprio was enacted, the Institute has faced persecution in multiple dioceses. Most notably in 2022, when notorious heterodox Cardinal Blase Cupich demanded ICKSP in Chicago sign a document stating that the Novus Ordo Mass is the only true expression of the Roman rite, thereby rejecting the traditional Roman rite, among other demands.

After refusing to sign this document, which goes against the order’s charism of celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass exclusively, Cupich subsequently barred the Institute from celebrating Mass or hearing confessions.

Last year, in an audience with ICKSP leaders, Pope Francis insisted the order continue to serve the Church according to its own proper charism.


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