2023-11-12 18:52:56
In an unusual move, Pope Francis dismissed American Bishop Joseph Strickland from his ministry on Saturday. The cleric from Tyler, Texas, is one of the pope’s harshest critics and refused to resign following an investigation.
Sofia Dreisbach
North American political correspondent based in Washington.
Typically, a bishop is asked to resign and then submits a corresponding request. Strickland was asked to resign on Nov. 9 but declined, according to a statement.
The sixty-five-year-old, who was appointed to the diocese by Pope Benedict, had significant ideological differences with Pope Francis. He is considered the most prominent traditionalist figure among American Catholics.
Strickland against Vatican guidelines
Earlier this year, Strickland wrote on Twitter that he opposed Francis’ program “which undermines the deposit of faith.” Strickland criticized, among other things, the Pope’s attempt to make the church more open to the LGBTQ community and to give laypeople more responsibility.
The Vatican’s statement on Saturday did not give a reason for the dismissal. Strickland said in an interview with the website LifeSiteNews that one reason was his refusal to implement Vatican guidelines restricting the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass. “I stand by all of the things that have been listed as complaints against me,” Strickland said.
A comment from Thomas Jansen Published/Updated: Recommendations: 4 Matthias Rüb, Rome Published/Updated: Recommendations: 18 Thomas Jansen and Matthias Rüb, Rome Published/Updated: Recommendations: 6
Pope Francis said last year that political ideologies had in some cases replaced faith in the “reactionary” Catholic Church in the United States. In February, an internal FBI paper became public that classified “radical traditionalist Catholics” as a threat to public order. They are sometimes anti-Semitic, reject LGBTQ rights and are close to a “white racist ideology”.
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