(LifeSiteNews) — The Catholic Diocese of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, has denied allegations that it has barred clergy from celebrating Novus Ordo Masses in the ad orientem (meaning “to the east”) posture.
During a phone call with LifeSiteNews, a spokesman for the Diocese of Greensburg adamantly denied that Bishop Larry Kulick has prohibited priests from celebrating the Novus Ordo Mass ad orientem, emphasizing that no official directive has been issued regarding the ordinary form of the Mass.
Two sources within the diocese, who are known to LifeSite and chose to remain anonymous, told us that following a Mass, a parishioner had asked Kulick when their priest might be allowed to offer Masses ad orientem. The bishop reportedly replied that this was not permitted in the diocese. One of these sources told LifeSite that they contacted the diocese for clarification and were told by a spokesperson that ad orientem Masses are indeed prohibited throughout the diocese.
A diocesan spokesperson told LifeSiteNews that rumors of a ban on ad orientem worship are “completely false.”
“There has been no directive (issued) on the Novus Ordo Masses,” the spokesperson said.
First they came for the Latin Mass, now bishops are banning ad orientem Novus Ordo Masses. pic.twitter.com/8d0nTPC4l5
— Sign of the Cross (@CatholicSOTC) November 6, 2025
However, one of LifeSite’s sources, a parishioner in the diocese, said that a different spokesperson had confirmed over the phone that the alleged ban on ad orientem worship was in effect, even if there is no official directive from the diocese.
“(The spokesperson) confirmed Kulick’s comments (to the parishioner) were accurate, and said ad orientem (worship) is banned throughout the diocese – full stop,” the source told LifeSiteNews.
READ: If the US bishops want a Eucharistic revival, they should stop attacking tradition
The rubrics for the Novus Ordo Mass notably allow for the liturgy to be celebrated ad orientem. In 2000, the Congregation for Divine Worship also confirmed that ad orientem worship is not forbidden, reminding bishops that “it would be a grave error to imagine that the principal orientation of the sacrificial action is toward the community.”
The Congregation for Divine Worship, in its 2000 instruction Liturgiam Authenticam (n. 123) and in a 2001 response published in Notitiae, explicitly reaffirmed that the priest may celebrate versus populum or ad orientem according to local custom and pastoral prudence.
“The… https://t.co/qFD1OSqkgx
— Father V (@father_rmv) November 6, 2025
In addition to apparently restricting the celebration of ad orientem Masses, the Diocese of Greensburg currently has just one diocesan Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), which is celebrated at Holy Family Church in Latrobe.
In recent years, several dioceses across the U.S., in addition to placing heavy restrictions on the celebration of the TLM, have restricted clergy from celebrating the ordinary form of the Mass ad orientem.
In 2022, heterodox Cardinal Blase Cupich required all priests in the Archdiocese of Chicago to request permission to continue celebrating the TLM or the Novus Ordo Mass ad orientem. Later that year, notoriously pro-LGBT Bishop John Stowe, mirroring Cupich, suppressed the celebration of nearly all Tridentine Masses in the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, and clamped down on so-called “eccentricities” in the ordinary form of the Mass, including ad orientem and kneeling at the Communion rail to receive the Holy Eucharist.
Earlier this year, Archbishop Edward Weisenburger, one of Pope Francis’s final episcopal appointments, suppressed nearly all TLMs in the Archdiocese of Detroit and barred clergy from celebrating Novus Ordo Masses ad orientem.
READ: Detroit archbishop shuts down most Latin Masses, bans ad orientem worship
Contact information for respectful communication:
Office of Bishop Larry Kulick
Phone: 724-837-0901 x1118
Office of the Vicar General, Monsignor Raymond Riffle
Phone: 724-837-0901 x1220
