He Pope Francisco deposed the American bishop Joseph Stricklanda prominent conservative who repeatedly criticized his papacy, announced this Saturday The Vatican.
“The holy father dismissed Joseph E. Strickland of the pastoral government of the Diocese of Tyler” in USAthe Vatican announced in a statement.
In June, Francis sent two American bishops to that diocese, located in Texas.
The bishop of austin, Joe Vasquezwas named apostolic administrator of the diocese, the statement indicated.
According to experts, it is extremely rare for a bishop to be directly removed from his responsibilities, rather than being encouraged or ordered to resign.
In a blog post posted on his website in September, Strickland responded to rumors that the Vatican urged him to resign.
“I cannot resign as bishop of Tyler, because it would be tantamount to abandoning the flock in my care.”, he wrote then.
“I have also declared that I will respect the authority of the Pope Franciscoif you remove me from my duties as Bishop of Tyler”he added.
Strickland had no immediate comment on his dismissal, which was announced Saturday while it was still early in the United States.
In September he wrote on his blog: “I love Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church that He founded (…) My only desire is to speak His truth and live God’s will to the best of my ability.”.
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“Reactionary attitude”
The Vatican He did not specify what triggered the June apostolic inspection or what conclusions he reached.
Strickland wrote that the two bishops had spent a week conducting interviews about the situation in the diocese.
The Texan bishop, appointed by Francis’ predecessor, Benedict XVI In 2012, he is one of the most prominent critics of the Argentine pope.
The 86-year-old pontiff is trying to make the Church more open to different points of view. But he has faced strong opposition from his critics, especially in the United States, who accuse him of causing confusion and not respecting the fundamental beliefs of Catholics.
In a message posted earlier this year on the X network, Strickland accused the pope of “undermine the deposit of faith”.
Many of his critics accuse Francis of not being firm enough on the issue of abortion and of showing too much tolerance towards gays and divorced people.
During a meeting of Jesuits in Lisbon, Francis lamented the “strongly reactionary attitude” of some Catholics in the United States.
He also stated that going back to the past “it’s useless“and what is necessary”understand that there is an appropriate evolution in the way we approach issues of faith and morality”.
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The decision to remove Strickland was also announced by the United States Catholic Bishops’ Conferencein a statement as brief as that of the Vatican.
The Diocese of Tyler has more than 120,000 Catholics out of a total population of more than 1.4 million, according to the Conference.
“Our work as Catholic Church in northeast Texas continues”stated the diocese.
