Michelle La Rosa, The Pillar
Thursday, January 8, 2026
Thirty-one priests in the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, have submitted a set of questions to the Vatican related to recent liturgical changes announced by the local bishop, including a decision to ban the use of altar rails and kneelers for Holy Communion. There have been rumors that the bishop also plans to introduce additional piecemeal regulations on the liturgy, based on a leaked policy draft that would have prohibited Roman-style vestments, altar crucifixes and candles, the use of the Latin language, and the recitation of vesting prayers, customarily recited by priests as they don the vestments used for Mass.