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A Sad Day in the Diocese of Tyler, Texas
I woke up this morning to this email link from LifeSiteNews.
Pope Francis has removed our good and faithful bishop, Joseph Strickland. This is devastating news to me and to all of us in the Diocese of Tyler, Texas. Bishop Strickland is one of the few bishops in the USA who actually practice what they preach. I’m so angry right now I don’t know what to say.
From the email link:
Bishop Joseph Strickland is being cruelly removed from his diocese by Pope Francis, despite being America’s most faithful shepherd.
This merciless attack on Catholic orthodoxy by Pope Francis demands a prayerful response today, so please sign our petition pledging to pray for Bishop Strickland as Pope Francis removes him from the Diocese of Tyler, Texas. We will be presenting Bishop Strickland with your prayer pledges, so sign up now!
The most stunning thing is that Bp. Strickland’s Diocese of Tyler has one of the highest vocations per capita in the United States.
Bp. Strickland has led the diocese for over ten years and been lauded by faithful Catholics for his promotion of love for Christ in the Eucharist and traditional Catholic teachings. But he is now being cancelled for, among other things, defending the Catholic Church against error.
The Vatican has had Bp. Strickland in their crosshairs for sometime, not least because, like St. Paul corrected St. Peter, Strickland publicly corrected several heterodox statements from Pope Francis.
Known as ”America’s bishop”, he has been outspoken in defending life and family, and has insisted that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament be respected, which led him to refuse to give pro-abortion politicians Holy Communion.
Bp. Strickland has been fearless in his fight for fidelity to the teachings of the Catholic Church. In a recent episode of The Bishop Strickland Show, presented by LifeSiteNews, Bishop Strickland states that he is willing to suffer martyrdom, red or white, for defending the truths of the Catholic faith.
His unwavering dedication to promoting Jesus Christ and His Truth has had a profound impact on the lives of countless individuals.
We stand with Bishop Joseph Strickland, his love for Christ in the Eucharist, his devotion to Our Lady and the selfless work he has undertaken to foster greater fidelity among the clergy and even the Pope.
Please share this petition TODAY with your friends and family. We must pray for Bishop Strickland in this most painful trial.
I encourage all the Catholics on Ricochet and others of goodwill to sign the petition at the link and let Pope Francis know he has made a terrible mistake. Thank you and please pray for Bishop Strickland.
LifePetitions – Petitions for a Culture of Life https://t.co/Ma9oWDnCGK
— Scott Wilmot (@scwilmot315) November 11, 2023
Rejoice always that…no matter what the day brings Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, yesterday, today and forever. May the saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary always inspire us to return to Christ no matter how we may wander into darkness. Jesus is Light from Light. pic.twitter.com/BInqtESYaH
— Bishop J. Strickland (@BishStrickland) November 11, 2023
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Published in Religion and Philosophy
I’ve been thinking of getting that book! What do you think of it?
I’m so old I still remember when the Pope was Catholic.
Apparently people in my diocese call the bishops office and complain a lot. It must work, because my parish priest mentions it regularly. Except for the Lefty prayers of the faithful, my parish is strongly apolitical. The homilies are sadly lacking in cultural commentary.
So how far would you have to drive to attend Mass outside this bishop’s territory?
Or are you committing a mortal sin by attending Mass outside your designated parish?
Went to see what Michael Lofton had to say. It takes him nine minutes of unsubstantiated aspersion casting (with promises of substantiation later) to start rolling tape. He declares that he will play the whole tape and then immediately starts skipping around. He cites two disgruntled priests, one stepping forward publicly, the other anonymously. Out of 95 listed (a few retired) on the Diocese web site. His greatest outrage occurs over a Strickland quote that he refused to execute the Traditional Latin Mass ban because it would “starve a portion of his flock.” Lofton was outraged that forced attendance of a Novus Ordo mass was compared to starvation. This is what lit Lofton up like a Christmas tree.
Strickland does read a letter he had received near the start of his talk to illustrate the tone of struggle that pervades the Church. The tone of the letter reminded me very much of Lofton’s own overwrought tone. And the letter writer does mention in passing, in a rant, that Peter’s seat is vacant. Maybe he meant it, maybe he was just angry. Lofton is outraged that Strickland read that and did not immediately stop to correct it. It turns out Strickland didn’t need to, Lofton’s scolding is scoring higher with search engines than Strickland’s actual talk. Strickland addresses what he has read as indicative of the intensity of the current crisis in the Church, not to endorse heresy. In fact, his message is a bold stand against heresy.
Yes, yes. The Bishop assigns us all to a specific pew and cameras take rigorous attendance and failure to fulfill ones Sunday obligation requires a note from our mortician.
But actually, no.
And quality is on a per-parish basis, not diocese. There are 20 parishes within 10 miles of me. And if Francis managed to kill my TLM fix, the Chrysostem liturgy is a good alternative.
I gather from your questions that you aren’t Catholic. No, it’s not a mortal sin to attend Mass outside one’s diocese.
I agree that sometimes Lofton repeats himself and can be overwrought, but overall I think he presents the most charitable view, for Pope Francis, that can be made. I won’t fault him for this. I don’t like Pope Francis one damn bit, but I also don’t think that focusing solely on his faults is good for a Catholic’s soul. Does that mean I will read Pope Francis’s encyclicals? No. He lost me a long time ago. But I think that criticism needs to be done as charitably as possible, and I think Lofton is a good resource in that regard.
Anglicans claim Apostalic succession also. As do the Lutherans. Other than doctrines about the Papacy, I suspect the ACNA is closer to traditional Catholicism than Francis. Thank you for your hostile comment and insult. Appreciate it
This is absolute BS Manny. So some clown on the internet makes a video and you think my bishop is a sedevacantist? And who do you think he names in the te igitur in the mass? Let’s see what the bishop said:
Yes like the dubias that get answered and the ones that don’t.
OK, to all of you who watched that Michael Lofton video and came away thinking Bishop Strickland is a sedevacantist (especially you Catholics which is really disappointing), I urge you to listen to Bishop Strickland himself. Who does he ask us to pray for?
We first remember that the Church is Christ’s and it is in Him and His Body, the Church, that we place our trust. The Church has had bad popes and has survived because it is a divine institution. So like Mary and John, we stay at the foot of the Cross, avail ourselves of the sacraments, attend mass, and pray.
I would encourage you to listen to Bishop Strickland in the video I posted – he will give you a better answer than I can.
The Catholic and Orthodox Church are the only two churches that have apostolic succession. Francis, no matter how bad a pope he may be, is also a successor to the Apostles. For Strickland to go elsewhere other than the Catholic Church would be apostasy. That will not happen.
Y’all are way off base thinking that Bishop Strickland is a sedevacantist. That is preposterous. I’ve posted a video (beware, it’s with those dastardly people at LifeSite) where you can listen to the words of Bishop Strickland himself asking us multiple times to pray for Pope Francis.
Satan is having a field day. One of the most orthodox, conservative, and faithful bishops is run-off by Rome and people are jumping on the bandwagon.
I have family members who went actual sedevacantist after Vatican II. Their move destroyed two families, ended the education of children at eighth grade or less, nearly starved two of them and ended up on the front page of the local newspaper. Sedevacantism causes real scandal. By their fruits and all that. Joseph Strickland is no sedevacantist.
This was an enormous big deal headline on Fox and Friends this morning. They are doing a segment on it.
@lowtech-redneck: “Okay, but what do you do if the local priest is bad? “
You endure.
You come to realize that being with your fellow parishioners each Sunday morning, praying with them, receiving Holy Communion, and listening to the Word of God, is more important than the ninny at the altar. In my parish, we are on our third pastor in four years. The two that didn’t last longer than one-third of their term with us made a real mess of a sense of community in my parish. And this was after having the same pastor for 12 years. Fortunately, our new pastor seems to be a good one. I can laugh with him. His homilies are spot on and 7 minutes long. (Yes, I have timed him.) He’s working very hard to clean up the messes his predecessors created. What I really appreciate is that the church art is allowed to be seen. I’ve thanked him and he said it was an easy thing to fix.
I just watched this. According to the guy on the show, the only reason they are supposed to ever remove a priest like that is for proven corruption or sexual malfeasance. It’s not supposed to be about theological interpretation. The investigation was rigged. They also aren’t explaining why they removed him.
I get that centralized power is a feature of the Catholic Church, but when does that ever not devolve into problems?
He also said that the church is only supposed to concentrate on saving souls, not any of the political leftist stuff.
Not just a communist: An Argentine Jesuit Marxist liberation theology communist. Remember, Argentine Jesuits trained Che Guevara in Alta Gracia (province of Cordoba). Marxism militant…
As I commented above, canon law states four reasons a diocesan bishop can be removed from office: death, transfer, resignation, or criminal penalty.
What was the crime Bishop Strickland committed? Apparently it was being Catholic.
Those in power in the Church, like all of us, are human and subject to sin. It is a given: there will be problems. That is why Bishop Strickland constantly urges us to focus on Jesus Christ.
We go to mass to give glory to God for the salvation of our soul. That is first and foremost. The Church is also an expert on humanity and has a long tradition of social doctrine.
Did I state anywhere that Strickland is a sedevacantist? No, because I don’t think he is.
That said, my parish has a lot of homilies on Global Warming, which is exactly “political leftist stuff”. I have only heard one homily mention energy poverty in Africa and that was a visiting priest from Africa. The Church should put more effort into the poverty and suffering of Africans than the preening of coastal elites.
I think I’d go to a different parish! What nonsense. I am blessed in having solid priests in the two parishes I usually attend.
I am Presbyterian. When the leftie influences began distorting the church, Presbyterians split into several groups to preserve tradition, leaving behind a smaller sect to follow liberalism but unable to corrupt the conservative believers.
I do not suggest the Catholic Church split and you do not entertain pushing back against the leftie Pope. For the good of the western world, I hope the Catholic Church survives intact, free of leftie ideology. It will be interesting seeing how it does that.
Well, praise the Lord. But when you agree to a comment that says Bishop Strickland is supporting sedevacantism, one wonders.
Part of the problem is that Catholic catechesis has been watered down for several decades. As one wag put it young Catholics are demanding better catechesis so they can be sure they are committing the big sins and not just the little ones. I would add it is not unique to young Catholics.
For some reason Pope Francis has a problem with the Latin Mass. There are many different Rites in the Catholic Church that can fulfill your Sunday obligation. His biggest problem is he cannot understand why young Catholics in Europe and the West are attracted to the Latin Mass. My answer would be what is better for these young Catholics? Spending a Sunday at a Latin Mass, or seeking secular spirituality from Oprah, Howard Stern, Nancy Pelosi, and Joe Biden.
Rites of the Catholic Church:
LATIN, BYZANTINE, ALEXANDRIAN, SYRIAC, ARMENIAN, MARONITE, CHALDEAN, SYRO-MALABAR.
You know you are in the right, when your position is opposite that of WaPo. Their ignorance is manifest.
The rest of the article is just as ridiculous.
A good question.