An American bishop investigated by the Vatican following his criticism of Pope Francis has vowed to remain in office.
Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, spoke after reports claimed it was likely that the Holy Father would request that he stands down.
The Vatican’s Dicastery of Bishops has completed an apostolic visitation into his conduct and the diocese in the summer.
The conclusions of the investigation were said to have been presented to the Pontiff at the weekend by a delegation including Archbishop Robert Prevost, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, and Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the papal nuncio to the United States, and there was speculation that a request for Bishop Strickland’s resignation would be recommended.
Bishop Strickland is championed by many U.S. conservatives for his staunch defence of the unborn, marriage, the traditional Latin liturgy, and Catholic orthodoxy.
But he has also been critical of the leadership of Pope Francis, whom he said in a tweet in May was “undermining the Deposit of Faith”, adding that Catholics should “follow Jesus”.
Speaking to the Religion News Service, Bishop Strickland, 64, said that although he had yet to receive any information of the meeting he was not prepared to resign.
“As a basic principle I cannot resign the mandate given to me by Pope Benedict XVI,” he said.
“Of course that mandate can be rescinded by Pope Francis, but I cannot voluntarily abandon the flock that I have been given charge of as a successor of the apostles.”
If Bishop Strickland refused to go, then the Vatican would have to initiate a penal trial to deprive him of his office.
In lieu of strong grounds for dismissal, the Vatican could opt to divest him of authority and influence in other ways, such as transferring him to a defunct see.
The leader of the eastern Texas diocese since 2012, Bishop Strickland raised his voice during the Covid pandemic against the development and use of vaccines derived from the tissues of aborted foetuses.
He also played a prominent role in a Eucharistic procession and prayer rally in Los Angeles in June to protest against Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers for honouring an anti-Catholic drag group at the team’s annual Pride Night game.
Though he was hailed for his leadership in some circles for joining the Dodgers protest, others saw the involvement of a bishop from another diocese as a breach of ecclesiastical protocol.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which condemned the Dodgers’ actions, emphasised in a statement that it had not given “backing or approval” for the rally.
Bishop Strickland has also criticised a Vatican document for Synod on Synodality for the questions it raises about women deacons, married priests, and LGBT people.
“It is a travesty that these things are even proposed for discussion. I pray that all who truly know Jesus Christ will not be deceived by this path,” he tweeted. “The Gospel welcomes all to repentance & sanctity, if there is no repentance the barriers to sanctity remain.”
A source in the diocese who spoke to EWTN News said the apostolic visitation consisted of interviews with diocesan clergy and laity before concluding with a meeting with Bishop Strickland.
Bishop Emeritus Gerald Kicanas of Tucson and Bishop Dennis Sullivan of Camden, New Jersey, led the inquiry.
According to the source, the process addressed the bishop’s social media use but also included questions related to diocesan management.
Bishop Strickland’s tenure has coincided with positive signs of spiritual and administrative health in Tyler.
At present 21 men are in priestly formation for the territory of only 55,000 Catholics, a rate of seminarians-per-Catholic considerably higher than most other U.S. dioceses.
The diocese is also reportedly in good financial shape, exemplified in part by the its ability to raise 99 per cent of its $2.3 million goal for the 2021 bishop’s appeal six months ahead of schedule.
Bishop Daniel Fernandez Torres of the Diocese of Arecibo in Puerto Rico was reportedly the subject of an apostolic visitation made by Chicago’s Cardinal Blase Cupich before his removal from office on March 9, 2022.
Bishop Martin D. Holley was removed from the Diocese of Memphis on Oct. 24, 2018, following a three-day apostolic visitation in June 2018 by Archbishops Wilton Gregory (then archbishop of Atlanta) and Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis that reportedly looked into allegations of mismanagement of diocesan personnel and finance.
In Paraguay, Bishop Rogelio Livieres Plano was removed from governance of the Diocese of Ciudad del Este on Sept. 25, 2014, following accusations of a lack of collegiality following an apostolic visitation that took place in July of that year.
The Vatican also reportedly sent an apostolic visitation to the Diocese of Knoxville in November 2022, where Bishop Richard Stika has been embroiled in allegations of sex abuse cover-up. The Vatican accepted the bishop’s resignation in June.
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