FRANCIS FIRES "AMERICA'S BISHOP" STRICKLAND

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The axe has been laid to the trunk of a giant totara in the Catholic Church - Pope Francis has taken out "America's Bishop'", +Joseph Strickland, Ordinary of Tyler, Texas, who has spoken up in the public square for Christ and the Gospel which Francis and his functionaries are determined to destroy.

And it's not for the first time: the pope got rid of another bishop in March 2022, after + Bp. Daniel Fernández Torres offended his Holiness by refusing to sign up to the protocol for peddling the abortion-tainted Covid v*ccine. Apparently +TORRES WAS THE ONLY BISHOP IN THE WORLD to stand up and defend his flock against that monstrous onslaught on Christ and His teaching and on the Magisterium of the Church.

So what of the world's bishops now? Will they stand by silently while this lamb, +Strickland, goes to the slaughter? He rightly refused to relinquish the episcopate and the people confided to his care by Pope Benedict XVI, and now obediently accepts this manifestly unjust diktat from a tyrannical diktator pope. Bishop Strickland is a white martyr and under this pontificate he will not be the last. 

At the 2023 Rome Life Forum last week Bishop Strickland quoted a letter from a dear friend which is worth quoting at length on this page: 

Francis is an expert at producing cowards by preaching dialogue and openness in a welcoming spirit and by highlighting always his own authority. He makes it seem that one who opposes him and what he proposes is an enemy of the Church. And yet it is not the blood of the cowards that is the seed of the Church. It is the blood of the martyrs. And Rome has been literally consecrated by the blood of Christians. 

You cannot, indeed, you must not go to Rome and play nicely. The Queen of Martyrs has called you, and you cannot parcel out truth in pieces. After all, were we not told that the truth would set us free. The Synod has gathered cowards in Rome, those who not only refuse to die for our Lord and His Church, but indeed demand that His eternal truths be changed. And if you play nicely with these, then you mock the martyrs. 

Would you now allow this one who has pushed aside the true Pope, and has attempted to sit on a chair that is not his. define what the Church is to be?https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/bishop-strickland-catholics-alive-during-this-crisis-must-remember-they-were-born-for-this/

One does somehow sense that it might have been this last sentence which signed +Strickland's summary dismissal from the office entrusted to him by "the true Pope".  

We leave it to Church Militant to tell the rest of this sordid story.

 

Pope Francis has removed a Texas bishop from his office, a move shocking many in the Church.

The move was announced Saturday in the Holy See's daily bulletin after Francis yesterday reportedly met with Cdl. Robert Francis Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops. 

According to the bulletin:

The Holy Father has removed Bishop Joseph E. Strickland from the pastoral care of the diocese of Tyler, United States of America, and has appointed Bishop Joe Vásquez of Austin as apostolic administrator of the same diocese, rendering it sede vacante.

While the United States was remembering 9/11 in early September, Pope Francis was meeting with Vatican officials to discuss the results of an apostolic visitation to Bp. Strickland's diocese. 

Along with Prevost, the pontiff met with Abp. Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States. 

Before that meeting, a senior official close to the Dicastery for Bishops told the Pillar, "The situation of Bp. Strickland is the agenda."

That same official explained that there were two aspects to the situation regarding the Texas bishop: "The matter of the public scandal from all these comments about the pope and the synod" and "real problems in the diocese."

"Those were the focus of the visitation; there are concerns in the diocese about governance, about financial matters, about basic prudence," he added.

"The consensus in the dicastery is that he will be asked to consider resigning," he said. "That has been the substance of discussion among the members." "Depending on how the bishop responds, the strength of that encouragement could be increased."

As tension between the Vatican and the Texas bishop was escalating, Religious News Service asked Bp. Strickland in early September what he would do if the pope asked him to resign.

"As a basic principle, I cannot resign the mandate given to me by Pope Benedict XVI," he answered. "Of course, that mandate can be rescinded by Pope Francis, but I cannot voluntarily abandon the flock that I have been given charge of as a successor of the apostles."

And that is how it played out, with Strickland refusing to resign when asked, and later being personally removed by Pope Francis.

Ouster of Bp. Daniel Fernández Torres

Pope Francis does have a record of removing bishops who claim to be merely following the Catholic faith.

In March 2022, Pope Francis ousted Daniel Fernández Torres as bishop of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, because he allegedly "had not been obedient to the pope, nor had [he] had sufficient communion with [his] brother bishops of Puerto Rico."

ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) - Pope Francis has removed a Texas bishop from his office, a move shocking many in the Church.

The move was announced Saturday in the Holy See's daily bulletin after Francis yesterday reportedly met with Cdl. Robert Francis Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops. 

According to the bulletin:

The Holy Father has removed Bishop Joseph E. Strickland from the pastoral care of the diocese of Tyler, United States of America, and has appointed Bishop Joe Vásquez of Austin as apostolic administrator of the same diocese, rendering it sede vacante.

While the United States was remembering 9/11 in early September, Pope Francis was meeting with Vatican officials to discuss the results of an apostolic visitation to Bp. Strickland's diocese. 

Abp. Robert Prevost and Abp. Christophe Pierre

Along with Prevost, the pontiff met with Abp. Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States. 

Before that meeting, a senior official close to the Dicastery for Bishops told the Pillar, "The situation of Bp. Strickland is the agenda."

That same official explained that there were two aspects to the situation regarding the Texas bishop: "The matter of the public scandal from all these comments about the pope and the synod" and "real problems in the diocese."

"Those were the focus of the visitation; there are concerns in the diocese about governance, about financial matters, about basic prudence," he added.

I cannot voluntarily abandon the flock that I have been given charge of as a successor of the apostles. 

"The consensus in the dicastery is that he will be asked to consider resigning," he said. "That has been the substance of discussion among the members." "Depending on how the bishop responds, the strength of that encouragement could be increased."

rome dispatch: Bp. Joseph Strickland Won't Resign
 

As tension between the Vatican and the Texas bishop was escalating, Religious News Service asked Bp. Strickland in early September what he would do if the pope asked him to resign.

"As a basic principle, I cannot resign the mandate given to me by Pope Benedict XVI," he answered. "Of course, that mandate can be rescinded by Pope Francis, but I cannot voluntarily abandon the flock that I have been given charge of as a successor of the apostles."

And that is how it played out, with Strickland refusing to resign when asked, and later being personally removed by Pope Francis.

Ouster of Bp. Daniel Fernández Torres

Pope Francis does have a record of removing bishops who claim to be merely following the Catholic faith.

In March 2022, Pope Francis ousted Daniel Fernández Torres as bishop of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, because he allegedly "had not been obedient to the pope, nor had [he] had sufficient communion with [his] brother bishops of Puerto Rico."

Bp. Daniel Fernández Torres

Torres refused to sign a joint statement urging the moral obligation of COVID-19 vaccinations, a stance he defended as a conscientious objection recognized by the Church. The bishop noted, "I have opposed what I consider to be using episcopal ministry to advance political agendas."

He also refused to send his seminarians to a new interdiocesan seminary in Puerto Rico, sending them instead to Spain. He noted, however, that he would change his policy if the Holy See specifically instructed him to.

He declared to his flock, "I have not been prosecuted, nor have I been formally accused of anything."

Despite having the prerogative as a successor to the Apostles to decide these issues, Fernández Torres faced mounting pressure to resign — a move he resisted — equating it to admitting guilt and succumbing to an unjust process. Throughout the ordeal, he maintained a high regard for Pope Francis, expressing doubts that the resignation request originated from the pope and seeking a formal process to address the allegations. He even requested to meet specifically with Pope Francisto discuss the alleged issues at hand, but no meeting took place.

Strickland the Troublemaker?

Known by some as "America's bishop," Strickland is one of the few U.S. Catholic bishops to be vocal in his support for the Church.

He was the only U.S. bishop to attend the June 16 protest against the Los Angeles Dodgers for the team's support of the blasphemous Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. It created something of an embarrassment for L.A. Abp. Jose Gómez and his auxiliary bishops.

Strickland has stepped up his social media postings over the past year, being an outspoken critic of much of what has transpired during the Francis papacy and holding accountable multiple members of the worldwide hierarchy. 

His almost daily postings on the social media platform X (previously Twitter) have garnered much attention and criticism.

The decision to remove Strickland comes two days before the U.S. bishops begin their gathering in Baltimore. 

Anon says:

Francis is a pope on the ropes, he is close to losing control, for a number of reasons

 

Firstly, his radical liberal pro-LGBT agenda took a bath at the synod.  The African bishops stood together and told him they won't take his perverted cultural colonialism in Africa.  It is not even mentioned in the synod document after that.

 

Secondly, it is all over the alternative Catholic media that Pope Francis has two standards, one for his mates who share his ideological agenda, and another for the likes of bishops Strickland and Torres who get sacked.  The German bishops can be as heterodox and gay as they like,  Similarly our NZ bishops with their unacceptable document 'Aroha and Diversity in Catholic Schools'.  Or Father Rupnik who rapes 25 nuns and gets reinstated as a priest.  Pope Francis is perverting cannon law to his own agenda.

 

To try to reassert his authority Pope Francis sacks Strickland and issues his latest bombshell about trans baptisms.  He is losing touch. Will the faithful need to camp en masse in St Peter's Square for him to get the message?

Matt says:

If this were a union matter, Bishop Strickland would have a case for unjustified  dismissal. As Cardinal Muller has put it, unjustified actions by the Pope erode trust in his office. We are meant, in the Church, to be under the  impression  that those who speak Truth to power will be largely  unimpaired in so doing. I, we agree with John-Henry Westen that Bishop Strickland  is like John the Beloved in his attitude. Kia kaha Bishop Joe Strickland,  Kia Maia. Your example gives us great heart ! 

Selwyn R Stevens says:

You mention "Protestantising of the Catholic Church" - you're wrong, this is the continuing paganisation of the Catholic Church which has been ongoing since Constantine. They are as lost as a goose in a blizzard.

I say: 

• As a Protestant you can't possibly realise how Satan focuses on the Catholic Church, or why. He hates the Holy Mass, he hates the Most Holy Eucharist because It is Jesus Christ Himself, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. That is why the Church is undergoing, in this evil pontificate, her crucifixion which makes her like unto her Mystical Spouse. May the Holy Spirit open you eyes to the truth.

• As a Protestant you can't possibly realise how Satan focuses on the Catholic Church, or why. He hates the Holy Mass, he hates the Most Holy Eucharist because It is Jesus Christ Himself, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. That is why the Church is undergoing, in this evil pontificate, her crucifixion which makes her like unto her Mystical Spouse. May the Holy Spirit open you eyes to the truth.

• As a Protestant you can't possibly realise how Satan focuses on the Catholic Church, or why. He hates the Holy Mass, he hates the Most Holy Eucharist because It is Jesus Christ Himself, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. That is why the Church is undergoing, in this evil pontificate, her crucifixion which makes her like unto her Mystical Spouse. May the Holy Spirit open you eyes to the truth.

• 
  

• As a Protestant you can't possibly realise how Satan focuses on the Catholic Church, or why. He hates the Holy Mass, he hates the Most Holy Eucharist because It is Jesus Christ Himself, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. That is why the Church is undergoing, in this evil pontificate, her crucifixion which makes her like unto her Mystical Spouse. May the Holy Spirit open you eyes to the truth.

• As a Protestant you can't possibly realise how Satan focuses on the Catholic Church, or why. He hates the Holy Mass, he hates the Most Holy Eucharist because It is Jesus Christ Himself, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. That is why the Church is undergoing, in this evil pontificate, her crucifixion which makes her like unto her Mystical Spouse. May the Holy Spirit open you eyes to the truth.

• 
  

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Domenico Fetti) 

"We beseech Thee, O Lord, in Thine infinite goodness watch over Thy household, and as we rely solely on the hope of Thy grace, so may we always be protected by Thy power"

- Collect, 5th Sunday after the Epiphany