Pope Francis on Saturday ordered the dismissal of Bishop Tyler of Texas, a conservative prelate active on social media and a fierce critic of the pontiff.
Francis “relieved” Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler’s pastoral charge and appointed Bishop Austin as interim administrator, according to a one-line statement from the Vatican. Francis’ crackdown on the old liturgy has become a cry for traditionalist Catholics who oppose the pontiff’s progressive views.
Strickland has become one of Francis’ chief critics, accusing him in a tweet earlier this year of “undermining the deposit of faith.” In particular, he criticised Francis’ recent meeting on the future of the Catholic Church, which discussed thorny issues including how to improve the reception of LGBTQ+ Catholics.
”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.”
The Vatican sent investigators to probe his management of the diocese amid reports of complaints from priests and laity about Tyler and his unorthodox statements, but the Vatican never released the results of the investigation, and Strickland has insisted he will not resign voluntarily, saying in media interviews that the mandate for episcopal ministry was given to him in 2012 by the late Pope Benedict XVI and he cannot relinquish that responsibility.
His dismissal sparked immediate outrage from some conservatives and traditionalists who saw Strickland as the main Catholic reference point opposing 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.”
The two Vatican investigators sent to investigate Strickland – Bishop Dennis Sullivan of Camden, New Jersey, and retired Bishop Emeritus Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona – “conducted an exhaustive inquiry into all aspects of the governance and leadership of the diocese” and issued a recommendation to Francis that “the continuation in office of Bishop Strickland was not feasible,” DiNardo said in a statement Saturday.
The Vatican first asked Strickland to resign on Thursday, but he refused, prompting Francis to remove him from office two days later.
The Pope rarely removes a bishop from office. Bishops must offer to resign when they reach the age of 75. In the event of any circumstance, the Vatican usually tries to pressure him to offer to resign for the good of his diocese and the church.
In Strickland’s case, the Vatican statement made it clear that he had not offered to resign and that Francis had instead “relieved” him of his position.
Francis has not been shy about expressing his concern about the right wing in the U.S. Catholic hierarchy, which is split between progressives and conservatives.
Strickland has been associated with the most extreme of these bishops, including former Vatican ambassador to the U.S. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a fierce critic of Francis who in 2018 called on the pope to resign. He also supported Vigano’s conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Saturday, Vigano wrote that Strickland’s ouster was evidence of Francis’ “cowardly form of authoritarianism.”
This affair will reveal who stands with the true Church of Christ and who chooses to stand with His declared enemies.
More recently, Strickland criticised Francis’ month-long private debate on how to make the church more welcoming and responsive to the needs of modern Catholics.
On Saturday, the Diocese of Tyler announced Strickland’s removal from his position, but noted that the work of the church in Tyler will continue as the incoming interim administrator of Tyler, Austin Bishop Joe Vasquez, said he would travel to the diocese within a day.
The statement says: “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.”
