Pope Francis Personally Fires Conservative American Bishop Who Was Relentless, Outspoken Critic

Either Pope Francis is following Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi's lead or Biden and Pelosi are following Pope Francis. Who knows? Maybe they're all taking their orders from a woke Antichrist. Whatever the case, they couldn't be more obvious about their leftward devotion. In Francis' latest testament to the left, he has removed Bishop Joseph Strickland from his role as bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas. "In removing Bishop Strickland from the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, Pope Francis has canceled one of the most faithful, forthright and vocal bishops in the United States" was the subtitle of an article on Life Site News . The announcement came Saturday in the Holy See’s daily bulletin . "The Holy Father has relieved from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Tyler (U.S.A.) H.E. Msgr. Joseph E. Strickland and appointed the Bishop of Austin, H.E. Msgr. Joe Vásquez, [Bishop of Austin] as the Apostolic Administrator of the vacated diocese," the announcement stated. Strickland had been asked to resign by Francis earlier this month. Strickland declined. So, in effect, Francis fired him. What's the crime? In July 2022, according to Life Site News , Strickland did urge the pope to refuse Communion to then-Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over her support of legal abortion. Strickland also accused Francis of a “program of undermining the Deposit of Faith,” Life Site reported in May . And let's not forget Strickland's condemnation of the “blasphemy” of the Rev. James Martin, a radically pro-LGBT Catholic priest, reported by Life Site in June. On Saturday, according to The New York Times, conservative Catholic podcaster Taylor Marshall said he had spoken with Strikland and there was "“nothing salacious or scandalous” involved in Strickland's ouster. I just got off the phone with Bishop Strickland.

Pope Francis has removed him from the diocese of Tyler. This is a very sad moment for the Catholic Church in Texas and throughout the world. Pray for Bishop Strickland and pray for those who removed him. ?? pic.twitter.com/KtqazTnGxl — Dr Taylor Marshall™️ (@TaylorRMarshall) November 11, 2023 Francis may not like what Strickland has to say because Strickland's correct. Biden and Pelosi -- Catholic in name only -- are both radically pro-abortion. Homosexual acts, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church , are "acts of grave depravity, and tradition has always declared that 'homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered'. They are contrary to the natural law. [...] Under no circumstances can they be approved." When it comes to "undermining the Deposit of Faith," the pope recently gave the green light to transgender people being baptized and homosexuals serving as witnesses at the sacrament of marriage, according to the Washington Examiner . Under Francis, the Vatican last week issued a guidance from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith that stated, "A transgender person, even if they have undergone hormone therapy and sex-reassignment surgery, can receive baptism under the same conditions as other faithful, if there are no situations in which there is a risk of generating a public scandal or disorientation among the faithful.” [firefly_poll] Well, many of the faithful are scandalized, publicly or not. The guidance also made it clear that children being raised by homosexuals could be baptized in the Catholic Church with the caveat, "In order for the child to be baptized, there must be a well-founded hope that he or she will be brought up in the Catholic religion." What does "well-founded hope" mean? Lip service to the pope? The door was even opened to homosexual godparents. The guidance said godparents must live "a life in conformity with the faith and the task he or she assumes,” but with Francis at the helm it seems like "conformity with the faith" could mean just about anything. Is what Francis doing anything less than undermining the Deposit of Faith that is to safeguard tradition? It appears to me that Bishop Strickland is correct in calling out Francis. "Follow Jesus," Strickland wrote in a social media post after accusing Francis of "undermining the Deposit of Faith." Please allow me to clarify regarding, “Patrick Coffin has challenged the authenticity of the Pope Francis.” If this is accurate I disagree, I believe Pope Francis is the Pope but it is time for me to say that I reject his program of undermining the Deposit of Faith. Follow Jesus.

— Bishop J. Strickland (@BishStrickland) May 13, 2023 Strickland isn't the first conservative Catholic to get the ax under Francis. Last year, the pope removed Bishop Daniel Fernández Torres from the Diocese of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, according to Life Site . There was no public explantion, the website reported. Torres, like Strickland, was an outspoken advocate of Catholic teaching. He also supported the unpardonable sin of conscience objections to COVID vaccine mandates, according to Life Site. On the other hand, in 2021, Francis expressed support for Martin’s controversial LGBT ministry, according to the National Catholic Register , which described Martin's approach as an "incremental departure from Catholic doctrine." According to Life Site, Francis chose not to discipline "numerous bishops who have publicly contradicted Catholic doctrine on homosexual activity, gender, same-sex 'blessings,' the ordination of women, and the reception of the Eucharist." In March, Francis appointed prominently pro-LGBT Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, S.J., of Luxembourg as a member of the Council of Cardinals after Hollerich said that he believes Church teaching on sodomy is “false.” [ic_related] Hollerich, like Martin and Francis himself is a Jesuit. It's clear as a cloudless day that Francis is more woke political animal than a traditional Catholic spiritual leader.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal .