WHY BISHOP STRICKLAND WAS REMOVED: MESSAGES ECHO AROUND THE WORLD: ‘THERE ARE POWERFUL FORCES OF EVIL AROUND THE POPE WHO WANT TO DESTROY THE GOSPEL’
Why did Pope Francis remove Bishop Joseph Strickland from the Diocese of Tyler, Texas? How does the bishop perceive this and what will he do now?
A few hours after the announcement of the dismissal, the bishop answered in an online video interview with John-Henry Westen , from the Catholic portal LifeSiteNews, that the diocese with (50 parishes, 130,000 believers) is doing well, is financially healthy and has many seminarians.
If he was deposed, it is, he believes, because he was a threat to those who maneuver around the Pope in order to change the truth of Catholic doctrine.
“They want to change the truth of the gospel”
When Strickland was asked why he was removed, he replied in this interview: “The only answer I have is that today there are forces in the Church that do not want the truth of the Gospel, they want to change it, they want to get rid of it.” Truth, but the Truth will not disappear because the Truth is Jesus Christ.”
Although “Certainly Pope Francis is the only one with the authority of the Supreme Pontiff,” Strickland warns that “there are many forces working around him, influencing him, to make these kinds of decisions.” That is why we pray for him, as the son of God and in his role as supreme pope”.
“We must remember that huge and powerful forces are at work in the world. St. Paul reminds us: “we are not fighting against human beings, flesh and blood, but against the powers and principalities of evil.” “it’s true. It’s real. “Evil does not want the truth of Jesus Christ ,” he insists.
“The saints did not ‘make a mistake’ for two thousand years”
And he adds: “There are people in the Church who, instead of boasting about Christ’s faith, want to erase significant parts of the Holy Scriptures, saying: ‘they made a mistake’ or ‘we can simply ignore it.’ Saints, for two thousand years, they did not ‘get it wrong’. Doctrine, its understanding, develops, but in the sense of deepening, not reversing its direction. But there are forces that want to change direction, change moral teachings, completely reorganize the Church”, he adds.
Then he points to the sign. He says that many beautiful churches are being built today (at least in the USA). “But when I was in the seminary, they did not build beautiful churches, but experimental buildings, many of which have been demolished today. It seems to me that this is a metaphor for what happens when they want to build what the world is looking for.”
“What seems worrisome and unprecedented in my experience is that people within the Church want to change the Church by rejecting basic truths,” he laments.
State of the diocese
Although there have been rumors of mismanagement in the diocese, no Vatican authority has specified what they might consist of. Strickland sees nothing significant in that area.
“I sincerely believe that the Diocese of Tyler which I served until a few hours ago, blessed with many strong seminarians, who can be magnificent husbands or magnificent spiritual fathers as priests, is financially strong, because of the tremendous generosity of the people, I believe it is “in good condition, serving , with dedicated people in the office and priests in the parishes. I am very proud of the priests of the diocese. I see no reason, except that I threatened some of the powers with the truth of the Gospel, the truth that we cannot change, which is eternal, forever and glorious. And if you want to change it, then I am the problem,” he says.
“It is the Pope who makes the decisions. He is a man, only a man. None of us have superpowers. We have the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us if we open our hearts. But there are forces that we have to recognize behind it that are pushing this layoff,” he added.
How is Strickland now?
Strickland remains a bishop, the successor of the apostles, but for now without Rome entrusting him with any specific task. Precedents (Cardinal Burke, or Georg Gaenswein) suggest that nothing will be confided to him, although the interview does not go into this.
“I’m strong in faith,” says Strickland. “These two images behind me, the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, are pillars of the Church in these times, and pillars for me, in many ways. I encourage myself and others to pray more deeply than ever. Pray for Pope Francis, pray for the Church, pray for the world. I certainly appreciate the prayers and need them. And pray for the Diocese of Tyler, the many lives that have been changed by this situation. I encourage people not to distance themselves from the Church, because we are one Body, the mysterious Body of Christ”.
He also says: “I am happy to remain the successor of the apostles in all their reality. I try to face it with humility. Saint John the Baptist has always been my role model: the Lord should increase, and I should decrease. Pray that anyone who is confused, angry, with negative emotions, will leave it behind, in the knowledge that Jesus Christ is truth incarnate.
When asked where he will live and what he will do, he replies that “it may sound a little pietistic, but the truth is that I don’t know what tomorrow will bring and I am in God’s hands, like all of us.” But I know that the Lord is with me, I know the power of his love and I feel the power of prayer.
He insists on asking people, “as I heard Bishop Athanasius Schneider asking, to pray more than ever for Pope Francis, for the Vatican, with his enormous responsibility that leads the Church in our days.” “He needs our prayers. I know we are confused, sometimes angry, but turn it into a prayer of intercession, especially through the Immaculate Virgin Mary, our most powerful intercessor.”
Why did he refuse to resign himself?
Two American bishops paid an apostolic visit to Strickland during the summer, and then Rome proposed his resignation. But Strickland refused to do so of his own free will.
“I said that I could not, of my own free will, leave the flock that he had given me [Benedict XVI in 2012], but Pope Francis has the authority to remove me from that duty, and he decided to do so, so I must respect that.” I am no longer the Bishop of Tyler. Now I have to think about who I am, as a successor of the apostles, without a local diocese to take care of,” he admits.
Later in the interview, he compares his situation, to some extent, to that of the apostle John at the foot of the cross, the only one left there. “In many ways, the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church, is going through the torment of the Power of the world today, in the Church and outside it, many people are saying: ‘let’s finally eliminate the Catholic Church.'”
He denounces the “false narrative” of those who say that “the church is easing its rigid teachings. That’s not true! And it won’t last, but it will leave families and society empty and devastated.”
And he adds, about his situation: “I must continue to proclaim the truth, with joy and hope, with humor, I hope, outwardly, with the light of Christ guiding me.”
He insists on the key to his dismissal: “I threatened those who wanted to change the truth, and they will not achieve it, the truth does not change, the Holy Scriptures tell us.” Those who want to change the doctrine, he warns, can achieve it for a short time, “for one day”, but as the day passes, “the truth wins”.
“Obvious confusion on the part of the older brother”
About the pope, he adds that “as a bishop, he is an older brother and we have an obligation to pray for him, for the faith that is deepening in him.” I had two older brothers, and sometimes it’s hard, because you can get angry, have all the human emotions, but then you remember who we are. We are the Church, the mystical body of Christ, and Pope Francis is the head of that body on earth, representing Christ.”
“There is an obvious confusion or lack of acceptance of the truth by the elder brother. We have an obligation, out of love, patiently and always with respect, but with clarity and mercy, to pray and invite brothers, all in the Church, to a deeper faith and acceptance of the truth that challenges us. That’s why I ask everyone to pray more deeply.”
“We must admit that the Church is going through this great confusion [upheaval] while the world is in the midst of two great wars, which could even get worse at any moment, many people are dying and suffering, and the Church, in its confusion, is not as strong as it should be , bringing the light of Christ to the world. We all have an obligation, as faithful Catholics, to be more faithful than ever, not to let this set us back,” he added at the end.
