‘Nothing burger’: Diocese of Charlotte releases video of simple ‘pastoral vision’

(LifeSiteNews) – The Bishop of Charlotte, North Carolina, released a video today urging Catholics in his diocese to “share Jesus.” 

Bishop Michael T. Martin’s password-protected video was sent to all pastors in the diocese, who were ordered to play it at this weekend’s Masses. It was made public Saturday afternoon, and some are now questioning why the articulation of Martin’s “pastoral vision” required unusual secrecy measure.

As reported by LifeSiteNews Friday, pastors were sent the password-protected video via email earlier in the week and then sent the unlocking password Saturday at noon. This prompted many to brace for a bold or controversial message.

The video is entitled “Everyone so Loves Jesus, We Share Him with Others: A Pastoral Vision for the Diocese of Charlotte.”

Martin begins by imagining a mirror that enables people to see themselves as God sees them, aiding them in “understand how beautiful and infinitely loved we are” by God. This would change not only people’s self-images but the world at large.

He then laments that “we don’t spend too much time considering what we really want the world to look like,” speculating that the reason might be lost hope. “For me, the vision of the future is simple, though not always easy,” he says. “I see a future in Western North Carolina where everyone so loves Jesus, we share Him with others.” He goes on to lay out “three simple action steps to make this vision real.”

The first is to “form missionary disciples,” meaning cultivating Catholics who don’t merely believe the faith, but are “so in love with Jesus that they would go to remote places on the earth to spread His love,” likening it to the difference between a mere fan of a football team and an actual player.

“The world needs players,” the bishop said.

RELATED: Bishop of Charlotte orders pastors to play video about his ‘pastoral vision’ at all Sunday Masses

The second step is to “become the family of God,” meaning an intimate, familial connection to the Lord and other Christians akin to the biological connections from birth to our unchosen relatives.

“Too often, we come to church looking to be served rather than to serve, as guests rather than hosts,” Martin says. “More importantly, the parish cannot be a place of serving God’s family if our homes are not the first and most important place where we live as God’s family. Imagine a world where the holiness of our family life is what we bring with us to share each week at church rather than the other way around.”

Martin’s third and final step is to “go out to proclaim the Gospel,” meaning to proclaim it actively  with others, which is where “true joy” is found.

“To be a disciple of Jesus and not go out to proclaim His message is like holding a winning lottery ticket but never cashing it in,” he said.

“May the Holy Spirit guide us as we continue to envision a new heaven and a new earth with the Holy Spirit in western North Carolina. So loving Jesus that we share him with others,” Martin concludes. “Know of my prayers for you as we entrust this vision to the first missionary disciple Mary, mother of the church. May we follow her example of saying yes. And may God bless each of you with his peace.”

The basic nature of Martin’s remarks has renewed curiosity about why they were treated with such secrecy. X user Brian “Liturgy Guy” Williams, who covers church issues, panned the video as a “message that could clearly have been shared via a letter from the pulpit read by his priests,” speculating that the bishop simply “wants his voice and face projected in every parish to deliver what some are already calling a ‘nothing burger.’”

Bishop Martin’s video released. It is ten minutes long and intended to be shown during the homily at all parishes this weekend. The message is a general statement regarding discipleship and seems to possibly set the stage for the upcoming diocesan campaign which (reportedly) will… pic.twitter.com/ClBom4PotP

— Brian Williams (@LiturgyGuy) February 14, 2026

Martin, who has led the Diocese of Charlotte since 2024, is no stranger to controversial decisions, which critics say undermine his video’s stated purposes by diluting traditional worship practices.

In 2025, he merged the diocese’s four Traditional Latin Masses to just one small chapel 40 miles from downtown Charlotte, apparently chosen because it cannot accommodate all the faithful who wish to attend the Traditional Latin Mass.

Last December, Martin ordered that all altar rails and kneelers no longer be used for the reception of Holy Communion at all Novus Ordo Masses by January 16, 2026. He also ordered churches to remove all “temporary or movable fixtures used for kneeling” for Holy Communion.

Last month, 31 priests in the diocese, roughly a quarter of all its clergy, submitted dubia to the Vatican seeking clarification on Martin’s authority to restrict traditional practices.