The Pope removed the bishop for harsh statements: what caused

Pope Francis fired the American bishop / Collage 24 Channel

The Pope ordered the removal of conservative Bishop Joseph Strickland. He has sharply criticized the pontiff for his progressive stance on social media.

Strickland, 65, has become Francis' chief critic. He accused the Pope of “undermining faith” over a recent meeting over the fate of the Catholic Church.

What preceded this decision?

In particular, the meeting discussed the place of women in leadership positions and ways to better accept LGBT+ Catholics.

The Vatican launched an investigation to examine Strickland's management of the diocese amid reports that priests in Tyler complained about his unorthodox statements. Although the findings of this investigation had never been made public before, Strickland himself insisted that he would not resign voluntarily.

The Pope, after an investigation, received a recommendation that Bishop Strickland's tenure as Bishop could not be extended, says Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, who heads the church in Texas.

The Vatican asked Strickland to resign several days ago, but he refused. Therefore, Pope Francis forcibly removed him from office.

His dismissal caused outrage among some conservatives and traditionalists, who saw Strickland as a leader in opposing Francis' progressive reforms.

Removal of bishops is uncommon

The publication noted that the Pope can remove a bishop from office. Bishops are required to express their desire to retire when they reach 75 years of age. If the Vatican discovers problems with governance or other problems, it usually tries to pressure the bishop into agreeing to resign.

In addition, Joseph Strickland, as noted in the material, was associated with the most extreme bishops, such as the former Vatican ambassador to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Huigano, a fierce critic of Francis who in 2018 called for the pope to resign. In particular, Strickland supported Wigano conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Differences of opinion

Strickland criticized Francis' discussions about making the church more welcoming and responsive to the needs of modern Catholics. At the meeting, many issues were discussed that were previously taboo. This included women in leadership positions and the acceptance of LGBT+ Catholics, but in the end the final document from the meeting did not deviate from established doctrine.

On the eve of the meeting, Strickland called it a “travesty” that such things were even on the table for discussion. He called “real dissenters” those who “propose changes to what cannot be changed.”

Other statements by Francis

• The Pope believes that the Catholic Church can begin to bless same-sex couples. He emphasized that the blessing has nothing to do with marriage. He added that the church does not recognize such marriages.
• Francis recently spoke of Russia's “greatness” and urged Russians to “not forget their inheritance.” During his address, he called Russian culture “great” and glorified the imperialists who destroyed Ukrainians and persecuted the Catholic Church. Moreover, the Pope thanked the inhabitants of the aggressor country for being Russians.
• The Pontiff made a loud statement against the backdrop of Russia's war with Ukraine. He believes that Russia's return of the occupied Ukrainian territories is supposedly a “political problem.” According to him, in order to achieve peace, the parties must “talk to each other.”