Pope Francis has removed a Texas bishop from office.
Bishop Joseph Strickland is a US conservative active on social media who has been a fierce critic of the pontiff and some of his priorities.
A one-line statement from the Vatican said Francis had “relieved” Bishop Strickland, the Bishop of Tyler, of the pastoral governance of the city and appointed the bishop of Austin as the temporary administrator.
Bishop Strickland has emerged as a critic of Francis, accusing him in a tweet earlier this year of “undermining the deposit of faith”, and has been particularly outspoken on the Pope’s recent meeting on the future of the Catholic Church.
The Vatican earlier this year sent in investigators to look into his governance of the diocese, amid reports the bishop was making doctrinally unorthodox claims.
The Vatican has not released the findings of the investigation, and Bishop Strickland had insisted he would not resign voluntarily.
He has said in media interviews he was given a mandate to serve by the late Pope Benedict XVI, and could not abdicate responsibility.
The 65-year-old had also complained that he had not been told what the Pope’s investigators were looking into.
It is rare for the Pope to forcibly remove a bishop from office. Bishops are required to offer to resign when they reach 75.
Rejoice always that…no matter what the day brings Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, yesterday, today and forever. May the saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary always inspire us to return to Christ no matter how we may wander into darkness. Jesus is Light from Light. pic.twitter.com/BInqtESYaH
— Bishop J. Strickland (@BishStrickland) November 11, 2023
Advertisement
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 US bishop was forced out earlier this year following a Vatican investigation. Knoxville Bishop Richard Stika resigned voluntarily, albeit under pressure, following allegations he mishandled sex abuse allegations, and his priests complained about his leadership and behaviour.
But with Bishop Strickland, the Vatican statement made clear he had not offered to resign, and that Francis had instead “relieved” him from his job.
Most recently, the bishop had criticised Francis’ 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 LGBTQ+ Catholics, but in the end, its final document did not veer from established doctrine.
Ahead of the meeting, Bishop 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,” he 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.”
There was no immediate comment from the diocese, and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops merely posted an English translation of the Vatican statement with data about the size of the diocese.
In a social media post sent a few hours before the Vatican’s noon announcement, Bishop Strickland wrote a prayer about Christ being the “way, the truth and the life, yesterday, today and forever”.
