(LifeSiteNews) — The bishop of Covington, Kentucky removed from public ministry two beloved priests who offer the Traditional Latin Mass.
We just received word that Fr. Shannon Collins & Fr. Sean Kopczynski from Our Lady of Lourdes in Covington, KY have been unjustly stripped of their priestly faculties! We know both priest and can vouched for their character and fidelity to the Church!
This is outrageous!
— Lepanto Institute (@LepantoInst) January 17, 2024
Parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes in Park Hill were recently informed by Fr. Shannon Collins that he and Fr. Sean Kopczynski were stripped of their faculties by their ordinary, Bishop John Iffert.
Collins and Kopczynski belong to the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, a “public association of the faithful” that was erected by Iffert’s predecessor, Roger Foys, in the Covington diocese in 2019. The group is currently training several young men for the priesthood.
Aside from preaching retreats, Collins and Kopczynski provide the traditional sacraments to laity at Our Lady of Lourdes and at the Oratory of the Holy Family, located 28 miles southwest in Union, Kentucky.
Our Lady of Lourdes was established as a “quasi-parish” reserved for the exclusive celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass in 2016. In 2017, Bishop Foys conducted a dedication ceremony of the property. In 2018, he elevated it to the status of “personal parish,” writing in a public statement that “its members have distinguished themselves by their piety, generosity, and love for the Lord and His Church.”
LifeSite has learned that Fr. Collins was removed for preaching a “divisive sermon” several months ago that the diocese deemed to have undermined “unity” in the Church. LifeSite has not been able to discover which of Collins’ sermons, which are widely available online here and on the website Sensus Fidelium here, was allegedly problematic.
LifeSite has also learned that Collins refused to concelebrate a Novus Ordo Mass with Iffert.
LifeSite emailed Laura Keener, the Diocese of Covington’s communication director, to inquire about other details related to the removal of Collins and Kopczynski and about the future of the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist. LifeSite will publish her response once it is received.
Bishop Foys retired in 2021 at age 75. Iffert, 53, previously served as the vicar general for the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois.
As news about Iffert’s crackdown broke on social media Wednesday, many Catholics took the opportunity to praise Collins for his forceful, spiritually rich sermons. They also decried the move as yet another attack on Traditional Catholicism under Pope Francis.
I used to listen to the sermons from these priests all the time, this is very sad https://t.co/vqALj58tHP
— Kennedy Hall (@kennedyhall) January 17, 2024
While LifeSite has not determined how many Catholics attend Our Lady of Lourdes and the Oratory of the Holy Family, the Southern Ohio/Northern Kentucky area is a hub of Traditional Catholicism. Not only does the Society of St. Pius X have a church and school 18 miles from Our Lady of Lourdes, there are at least three sedevacantist chapels in the area. The Fraternity of St. Peter also has a church in Georgetown, Kentucky, which is an hour to the south.
This story is developing …