Pope Francis has fired US Bishop Joseph Strickland, a fierce critic who questions the pope’s leadership of the Catholic Church.
The Vatican reported that the bishop would be relieved of his duties as a result of investigations conducted in his diocese of Tyler, Texas, United States.
Bishop Strickland is a leading voice in a branch of American Catholicism is against reforms of the Pope.
His resignation comes after the pope spoke about the “backwardness” of some leaders of the American Catholic Church.
Strickland has launched a series of attacks against the Pope’s efforts to update the Church’s position on social and inclusivity issues, including the abortion, the transgender rights and the marriage between people of the same sex.
In mid-year, he argued in a letter that many “fundamental truths” of Catholic teaching were being called into question, including what he called attempts to “undermine” marriage as “ordained by God,” which is only between one man and one woman applies. .
Strickland criticized those who “reject their unmistakable, God-given biological identity.”
His letter suggested that attempts to change “that which cannot be changed” would lead to a irrevocable schism in the church. Those who try to change, he warned, “are the true schismatics.”
Research
The religious was investigated by the Vatican and had previously rejected the option to resign. And in an open letter in September: He challenged the Pope to depose him.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/eluniverso/YZBHKCGG6FBPTJQZYLCPJIGD7I.jpg)
“I cannot resign as bishop of Tyler because that would be an abandonment of my flock,” he said. The right one “Coalition for the Canceled Priests” held a conference earlier this year to support his research.
The Vatican said the decision to deport him “was taken following an apostolic visit ordered by the Pope to the Diocese of Tyler last June.”
According to Catholic media, the investigation also focused on the management of the diocese’s financial affairs.
Bishop Strickland, 65, was appointed bishop in 2012, during the papacy of Benedict XVI.
Attempts at modernization
The confrontation arose over the Pope’s attempts to make the Church more progressive during his papacy. The Vatican announced this on Thursday Transgender can be baptized in the Catholic Church, if this does not cause scandal or ‘confusion’.
In October he suggested that the Church would be willing to do so blessing same-sex coupleswhen he told a group of cardinals that “we cannot be judges who only deny, reject and exclude.”
Speaking during World Youth Day celebrations in Lisbon, the Pope said the backwardness of some people was “useless.”
“By doing this you lose the true tradition and turn to ideologies for support. In other words, ideologies replace faith,” he added.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/eluniverso/WUYPPMIOF5GR3PO3JGWRT2RA6U.jpg)
He Climate change has also been an important pillar of his papacy: from a landmark document on the environment in 2015 to recent warnings that the world may be “nearing a breaking point” when it comes to climate change.
The Pope has also strongly condemned climate deniers and will participate in the UN Change Summit (COP28) at the end of this month. He will be the first pope to attend the event since its inception in 1995.
The Vatican said the Diocese of Tyler will be temporarily governed by Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin. (JO)
Source: Eluniverso
Mabel is a talented author and journalist with a passion for all things technology. As an experienced writer for the 247 News Agency, she has established a reputation for her in-depth reporting and expert analysis on the latest developments in the tech industry.
