Pope Forcibly Removes Texas Bishop After Blasting 'Backwardness' of Conservative Clergy
Pope Francis on Saturday forcibly removed the bishop of Tyler, Texas, a conservative prelate active on social media who has been a fierce critic of the pontiff and has come to symbolize the polarization within the U.S. Catholic hierarchy.
A short statement from the Vatican said Francis had “relieved” Bishop Joseph Strickland of the pastoral governance of Tyler and appointed the bishop of Austin as the temporary administrator.
Strickland, 65, has emerged as a leading critic of Francis, 86, accusing him in a tweet earlier this year of “undermining the deposit of faith.”
Strickland has been particularly critical of Francis’ recent meeting on the future of the Catholic Church, a meeting during which hot-button issues were discussed, including ways to better welcome LGBT Catholics.
Earlier this year, the Vatican sent in investigators to look into Strickland’s governance of the diocese amid reports the bishop was making doctrinally unorthodox claims.
The Vatican never released the findings, and Strickland had insisted he wouldn’t resign voluntarily, saying in media interviews that he was given a mandate to serve by the late Pope Benedict XVI and couldn’t abdicate that responsibility. He also had complained that he hadn’t been told what exactly the pope’s investigators were looking into.
The firing of Strickland sparked an immediate outcry among some conservatives and traditionalists who had held him up as a leading point of Catholic reference to counter Francis’ progressive reforms.
Michael J. Matt, editor of the traditionalist newspaper The Remnant, wrote that with the firing, Francis was “actively trying to bury fidelity to the Church of Jesus Christ.”
“This is total war,” Matt wrote on social media. “Francis is a clear and present danger not only to Catholics the world over but also to the whole world itself.”
The two Vatican investigators — Bishop Dennis Sullivan of Camden, New Jersey, plus the retired bishop of Tucson, Arizona, Bishop Emeritus Gerald Kicanas — “conducted an exhaustive inquiry into all aspects of the governance and leadership of the diocese,” said the head of the church in Texas, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo.
After their investigation, a recommendation was made to Francis that “the continuation in office of Bishop Strickland was not feasible,” DiNardo said in a statement Saturday.
The Vatican asked Strickland to resign on Thursday, but he declined, prompting Francis to remove him from office two days later, DiNardo’s statement said.
It is rare for the pope to forcibly remove a bishop from office. Bishops are required to offer to resign when they reach 75. When the Vatican uncovers issues with governance or other problems that require a bishop to leave office before then, the Vatican usually seeks to pressure him to resign for the good of his diocese and the church.
That was the case when another U.S. bishop was forced out earlier this year following a Vatican investigation. Knoxville, Tennessee. Bishop Richard Stika resigned voluntarily, albeit under pressure, following allegations he mishandled sex- abuse allegations, and his priests complained about his leadership and behavior.
But with Strickland, the Vatican statement made it clear he had not offered to resign, and that Francis instead had “relieved” him from his job.
Francis has not been shy about his concerns about conservatives in the U.S. Catholic hierarchy, which has been split between progressives and conservatives who long found support in the doctrinaire papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, particularly on issues of abortion and same-sex marriage.
In comments to Portuguese Jesuits in August, Francis blasted the “backwardness” of these conservative bishops, saying they had replaced faith with ideology and that a correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time.
Most recently, Strickland had criticized Francis’ monthlong closed-door debate on making the church more welcoming and responsive to the needs of Catholics today. The meeting debated a host of previously taboo issues, including women in governance roles and welcoming LGBT Catholics, but in the end, its final document didn’t veer from established doctrine.
Ahead of the meeting, Strickland said it was a “travesty” that such things were even on the table for discussion.
”Regrettably, it may be that some will label as schismatics those who disagree with the changes being proposed,” Strickland wrote in a public letter in August. “Instead, those who would propose changes to that which cannot be changed seek to commandeer Christ’s Church, and they are indeed the true schismatics.”
In a statement Saturday, the diocese of Tyler announced Strickland’s removal but said the church’s work would continue in that city.
“Our mission is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to foster an authentic Christian community, and to serve the needs of all people with compassion and love,” the statement said. “We strive to deepen our faith, promote the common good, and create a welcoming environment for all to encounter the loving God – Father, Son, and Spirit.”
In a social media post sent a few hours before the Vatican’s announcement Saturday, Strickland wrote a prayer about Christ being the “way, the truth and the life, yesterday, today and forever.” He had changed the handle from his previous @bishopoftyler to @BishStrickland.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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