United States: Pope Francis Removes Bishop Strickland from Office

The Facts

The dicastery led a formal investigation in the Diocese of Tyler earlier this year, which ended in June. This Apostolic Visitation—to use the canonical term—was led by Bishop Dennis Sullivan, Bishop of Camden, New Jersey, and by Bishop Gerald Kicanas, Bishop Emeritus of Tucson, Arizona.

According to one source, the Apostolic Visitation focused on the Bishop of Tyler’s use of social media, as well as questions related to the management of the diocese. “As a result of the Visitation, the recommendation was made to the Holy Father that the continuation in office of Bishop Strickland was not feasible,” Cardinal DiNardo wrote in his statement of November 11.

The statement continues: “After months of careful consideration by the Dicastery for Bishops and the Holy Father, the decision was reached that the resignation of Bishop Strickland should be requested. Having been presented with that request on November 9, 2023, Bishop Strickland declined to resign from office. Thereafter, on November 11, 2023, the Holy Father removed Bishop Strickland from the Office of Bishop of Tyler.”

Bishop Strickland (65 years old) has been Bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, which is subordinate to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, since 2012. The very popular Texan bishop has been criticized for his use of social media, especially his tweet from May 12, which suggested that Pope Francis has been “undermining the Deposit of Faith.” The Vatican has not given a reason for the bishop’s dismissal.

Pope Francis met with the American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, on Saturday morning, before the announcement of Bishop Strickland’s dismissal. Bishop Joe Vásquez, Bishop of Austin, Texas, was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Tyler until the nomination of a new bishop.

Bishop Strickland has a good enough record: there are currently 21 seminarians in a territory of 119,168 Catholics. The diocese is also in good financial standing. It’s significant to note that the Pope’s decision to remove Bishop Strickland from office comes two days before the start of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Fall Plenary Assembly.

A “Synodal” Tyrant

It is important to note that relieving a bishop from office is a rare event, normally motivated by grave errors. That does not appear to be the case here, even if we ignore the results of the Apostolic Visitation. 

We must also note that Bishop Strickland has shown himself to be particularly incisive against the Synod on Synodality. He wrote a courageous letter, appearing in August, to warn his diocese of certain novelties incompatible with the Faith that would be discussed at the Synod. 

While the leitmotif of the Synod was: “listening to all,” and in particular to those who feel excluded, Bishop Strickland was entitled to treatment that could qualify as “clericalist,” in the sense of an authoritarianism that the Pope has not ceased to exercise since the start of his pontificate. There are thus very distinct limits to the “listening” proposed.

If we compare the treatment reserved for this bishop with that of priests and indeed of bishops whose doctrine is nothing less than defective, the injustice is even more blatant: it is truly tyrannical.