Pope dismisses conservative US bishop in rare move

Pope Francis ordered the removal of the bishop of Tyler, Texas, who is a fierce critic of thepontiff, on Saturday. 

The Vatican said Francis had relieved Bishop Joseph Strickland of the pastoral governance of Tyler and appointed the bishop of Austin, Joe Vasquez as the temporary administrator. It was announced simultaneously by the Vatican and the U.S. Bishops Conference.

It is extremely uncommon for a bishop to be relieved of his duties. Usually, they are asked to resign, and the resignation is accepted by the pope. The pope typically dismisses a bishop only if he refuses to resign. 

Strong critic of the Pope

Strickland, who was named to the diocese by the late Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, has emerged as strong critic of the pontiff, and had posted earlier this year that he rejected Pope Francis' "program undermining the Deposit of Faith," referring to the group of Catholic scriptures and traditions believed to have been around since roughly the time of Jesus' Apostles.

Strickland has established himself as a voice of the ultra-conservative wing of the US Church, and has a national following. He is also a supporter of former US President Donald Trump.

He has been particularly critical of Francis' recent meeting on the future of the Catholic Church which included discussions on ways to better welcome LGBTQ+ Catholics. He has also spoken against attempts by Francis to give lay people more responsibility in the Church and opposed the recent synod.

Earlier this year, the Vatican had sent in investigators to look into his governance of the diocese, saying people in Tyler claimed he made unorthdox claims. However, no findings were released. 

According to an interview in the conservative website LifeSiteNews, Strickland believed one of the reasons given for his ouster was his refusal to implement Francis' 2021 restrictions the use of traditional Latin Mass.

Last year, when the Vatican defrocked ultra-conservative U.S. priest Frank Pavone for "blasphemous" social media posts and disobedience to bishops, Strickland had defended him publicly.

tg/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters)