Bishop John Iffert of Covington, Kentucky suspended on 17 January the pastor, Father Shannon Collins, and the assistant priest, Father Sean Kopczynski, of the Latin Mass Parish Our Lady of Lourdes in Park Hills.
Both belong to the Missionaries of St John the Baptist, a Roman Rite group recognised in the Diocese of Covington which was founded by two former members of the Fathers of Mercy, a French clerical association that has survived only in the United States.
Monsignor Iffert punished the two priests for criticising the failed Novus Ordo. They stated that the Novus Ordo Eucharist "literally preserves nothing of the old" and that the 1969 liturgical changes were "motivated by hatred of traditional Catholics and the ancient liturgies of Rome".
The bishop looked for the quotes he could best take out of context without confronting their truthfulness to get rid of the priests. Here is the sermon that led to their dismissal. Monsignor Iffert called the quotes "errors".
After a huge backlash on social media, including Gloria.tv, Bishop Iffert issued a second statement on 19 January. He announced that two Holy Masses in the Roman Rite (7am and 9am) would be celebrated at nearby St Ann's Mission from 21 January.
Monsignor Iffert will meet with parishioners between the two Masses on 28 January to discuss the situation.
In the Novus Ordo, it's not uncommon for priests to commit horrible sacrileges, to deny essential elements of the faith, and to propagate immoral behaviour, but it's virtually unheard of for them to be sanctioned by their bishops for such behaviour.
en.news