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Bishop Joseph Strickland
Pope Sacks Conservative US Bishop
Pope Francis ordered the removal of Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland, a fierce critic of the pontiff whom he accused of “undermining the deposit of faith” amidst Francis’ attempts to welcome LGBTQ Catholics.
The Vatican had sent investigators to investigate allegations that Strickland had made “unorthodox claims” in his diocese of Tyler, but never released their findings.
Strickland claims one of the reasons given for his dismissal was his refusal to implement Francis’ 2021 restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass.
Bishop Joseph Strickland Pope Francis
Pope Francis has fired bishop Joseph Strickland, who is a big critic who raised questions about the Pope’s leadership in the Catholic Church.
According to the Vatican’s statement, the bishop has been removed from power following an investigation in the Catholic Diocese of Tyler, in Texas, USA, which he was leading.
Bishop Strickland is one of the leading voices in the leadership branch of the Catholic Church in the United States, which strongly opposes the changes proposed by the Pope.
His removal comes after the Pope spoke about the intellectual “backwardness” of some Catholic leaders in the United States.
What did Bishop Strickland do
Bishop Strickland has several times attacked the actions of the Pope to change Catholicism’s position on several social issues including abortion, transgender rights and same-sex marriage.
In July of this year, he warned that many Catholic teachings which are “basic truths” were being opposed, including what he called attempts to “denigrate” marriage “as created by God” between a man and a woman only.
The bishop has also criticized the attempts he called to “break taboos” and said those who criticize them are “against their biological identity given by God”.
In his July letter, Bishop Strickland has claimed that attempts to “change the unchanging” will cause great disunity within the Church. And those who want change, he has warned that “they are the ones who divide [the Church]”.
What happened with Bishop Strickland
Bishop Strickland was under investigation by the Vatican and previously dismissed the possibility of resigning, and in an open letter in September called on the Pope to fire him.
“I cannot resign as Bishop of Tyler because to do so would be abandoning the sheep,” he said.
According to the Vatican, the decision to expel him was reached after “an apostolic visit to the Diocese of Tyler ordered by the Pope in June”.
Catholic media reports that the investigation also focused on financial issues in the province.
Bishop Strickland, 65, was appointed bishop in 2012, during the tenure of Pope Benedict XVI.
The Vatican has said that the Diocese of Tyler will be temporarily led by Bishop Joe Vasquez of the Diocese of Austin.
This step follows the specific steps taken by the Pope to make the Catholic Church conform to the times in his administration.
On Thursday, the Vatican announced that transgender people can be baptized in the Catholic Church as long as doing so does not cause scandal or “confusion”.
In October, the Pope said that the Church can agree to bless same-sex couples, while explaining to the cardinals that “we cannot be judges who all we do is deny, reject and exclude”.
Speaking at the World Youth Day conference in Lisbon, the Pope said that the mindset of some people “is not useful”.
“By doing so, you lose the real culture and you will depend on ideology for support. In other words, ideology replaces faith,” he added.
Bishop Strickland Tyler, Texas
“The recommendation was made to the Holy Father that the continuation in office of Bishop Strickland was not feasible,” reads the statement. “After months of careful consideration by the Dicastery for Bishops and the Holy Father, the decision was reached that the resignation of Bishop Strickland should be requested. Having been presented with that request on November 9, 2023, Bishop Strickland declined to resign from office.”