Bishop Joseph E. Strickland of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas
Letter #129, 2023, Thursday, September 28: Will Pope Francis ask Bishop Strickland to resign?
Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, has been much in the news recently because of reports — which have not yet been confirmed — that Pope Francis may soon decide to ask Strickland for his resignation.
(Strickland is 64 and in good health; bishops normally go into retirement, submitting a letter of resignation, when they turn 75. So such a request by Pope Francis would be quite unusual.)
Here is a link to one such report, published by The Pillar on September 11, entitled “Francis meets to discuss Strickland resignation” (link).
Here is the essential passage in that report:
“At a meeting Saturday, Pope Francis discussed with Vatican officials the prospect of requesting the resignation of Bishop Joseph Strickland of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, The Pillar has learned.
“The pope met Sept. 9 with Archbishop Robert Prevost, OSA, head of the Dicastery for Bishops, and Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States – both cardinals-elect.
“Several sources close to the dicastery told The Pillar ahead of the meeting that the prelates would present the pope with the results of an apostolic visitation of Stickland’s diocese, conducted earlier this year [Note: June 19-24] as well as subsequent public actions by the bishop, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of the Holy Father.
“‘The situation of Bishop Strickland is the agenda,’ one senior official close to the dicastery told The Pillar, “and the expectation is that the Holy Father will be requesting his resignation [Note: emphasis added] — that will certainly be the recommendation put to him.'”
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Is it orthodox doctrine or “other issues”?
The Vatican is underlining, it appears, that there are “other issues” involved in this case besides doctrinal ones — for Strickland is known to have warned about the danger of heresy which seems to threaten the synodal process now underway in the Church, and to have urged Pope Francis to guard “the deposit of the faith” with very great care, suggesting that he is at risk of not doing so.
Here is what The Pillar says:
“’There are two aspects,’ the official said, ‘there is the matter of the public scandal from all these comments about the pope and the synod, but there are also 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.’ The official predicted that the pope was unlikely to decide to depose Strickland as bishop of his diocese, a canonically rare act, but told The Pillar that Pope Francis would be advised to encourage the bishop to resign. ‘The consensus in the dicastery is that he will be asked to consider resigning,’ the official said… ‘Depending on how the bishop responds, the strength of that encouragement could be increased,” the official said, and cited the case of Bishop Richard Stika who announced his resignation as Bishop of Knoxville, Tenn., earlier this year after being informed he no longer had the confidence of either the Holy See or his own clergy.”
The Catholic Herald on September 15 reported that “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 its ability to raise 99 per cent of its $2.3 million goal for the 2021 bishop’s appeal six months ahead of schedule.” (link)
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A German cardinal defends Strickland
Though nothing of this alleged “possible decision” of Pope Francis has been made public, one cardinal close to the late Pope Benedict XVI, German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, has said that, even if the Pope does ask Strickland to resign, Strickland should not resign.
A Lifesitenews September 21 article entitled “Cardinal Mueller defends Bishop Strickland: ‘He should definitely not resign'” reports Mueller’s opinion at this link.
In a statement published on kath.net on September 21, Müller offered his support to Strickland.
“It is terrible what is being done to Bishop Strickland, an abuse of office against the divine right of the episcopate,” Müller said.
“If I could advise Bishop Strickland, he should definitely not resign, because then they [Vatican authorities] can wash their hands of it,” added the German cardinal.
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Strickland’s statement
Strickland himself issued a statement on his bishop’s website on September 20 (link).
Strickland said that he does not wish to resign, but that he respects the authority of Pope Francis “if he removes me from my office of bishop of Tyler.”
Here is that part of Strickland’s statement (the full statement is below):
“I have said publicly that I cannot resign as Bishop of Tyler because that would be me abandoning the flock that I was given charge of by Pope Benedict XVI. I have also said that I will respect the authority of Pope Francis if he removes me from office as Bishop of Tyler. I love Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church which He established. My only desire is to speak His Truth and live God’s Will to the best of my ability.”
And here is Strickland’s full statement:
September 20, 2023
Dear Flock of the Diocese of Tyler,
I realize you may have heard information about me that is concerning and possibly confusing.
I thought it would be good for you to hear directly from me, hopefully I can alleviate some concerns and clarify any confusion. As you probably know there was an Apostolic Visitation of the diocese conducted the week of June 19-24. Bishop Kicanas, retired from Tuscan, Arizona and Bishop Sullivan, from Camden, New Jersey spent the week interviewing various people about the condition of the diocese and concluded by interviewing me.
I have not heard from any Church official from Rome since the visitation concluded on June 24. I was not given a reason for the visitation, and I have not received any report since.
Last week an article was published on a website called, “The Pillar”, and the article alleged that a meeting was held with Pope Francis where some of the members of the Congregation for Bishops recommended that I be encouraged to resign as Bishop of Tyler. Let me be clear that I have received no communication from Rome regarding this. At this point it is simply and article discussing supposed leaked information from the Vatican.
I have said publicly that I cannot resign as Bishop of Tyler because that would be me abandoning the flock that I was given charge of by Pope Benedict XVI. I have also said that I will respect the authority of Pope Francis if he removes me from office as Bishop of Tyler. I love Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church which He established. My only desire is to speak His Truth and live God’s Will to the best of my ability.
In closing let me share my profound gratitude for the support and prayers that so many of you have expressed to me. I continue to love serving as your shepherd and thankfully during all of this I have been able to visit many of your parishes and celebrate our Catholic faith with you.
I am blessed in my personal prayer in which I feel very close to the Lord and supported by the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints. Your prayers are a tremendous support as well. I am at peace with whatever the Lord’s call for me is, let us continue to pray for Pope Francis, the Church, and the Diocese of Tyler that we call home.
God bless you and all who are dear to you.
Sincerely in Christ’s Name,
Most Reverend Joseph E. Strickland
Bishop of Tyler
Live podcast with Bishop Strickland
Given the importance and complexity of this matter, we asked Bishop Strickland to join us on a live podcast tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Texas time, 10 a.m. U.S. east coast time, and 4 p.m. Rome time. —RM
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So do consider joining us live tomorrow, Friday, September 29th at 10:00 a.m. Eastern for a special Live discussion with Bishop Strickland and Father Charles Murr. You can watch live on YouTube here or on Rumble here. You can also watch live on Twitter here or Facebook here.
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And here is a pastoral letter that Strickland just issued two days ago, on September 26. —RM
Letter on Our Humanity, Rooted in God (link)
September 26, 2023
By Bishop Joseph Strickland
My Dear Sons and Daughters in Christ:
I write to you today to discuss more fully the fourth basic truth that I spoke of in my first pastoral letter issued on August 22, 2023, and to ask that we reflect more deeply on this important truth of our faith: “Every human person is created in the image and likeness of God, male or female, and all people should be helped to discover their true identities as children of God, and not supported in a disordered attempt to reject their undeniable biological and God-given identity.”
The reality that the human community is losing this thread of truth is one of the most surprising and devastating trends of our time.
The confusion and the harm that come from forsaking our biological and God-given identity are rooted in the modern tendency to deny the sovereignty of God, and for many, to deny even His very existence — thereby making ourselves into ‘gods’ in our own minds.
This denial of the true God is demonstrated in dramatic ways as we begin to lose the thread of who we are.
To answer the basic question of our identity, we must turn to God and to the truth He has revealed to us. When we attempt to answer this question of who we are without first seeking an answer from God, we find ourselves immersed in the chaos which we see around us today. Thankfully, God has revealed a beautiful picture of who we are, and Sacred Scripture and the Sacred Tradition of our Catholic faith offer much to help us paint the wondrous picture of the human person. “So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:27).
The truth that God has created us in His own image and likeness takes us beyond the natural level to the supernatural destiny that we all share. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “The human body shares in the dignity of ‘the image of God’: it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit.” (CCC 364-365).
In his Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici, St. John Paul II wrote about an “anthropological foundation for masculinity and femininity.” He stated that this “is a plan that ‘from the beginning’ has been indelibly imprinted in the very being of the human person — men and women — and, therefore, in the make-up, meaning and deepest working of the individual.” (Christifideles Laici, December 30, 1988, para. 50).
In today’s culture, there is a preoccupation with one’s own identity, which speaks to a deeply held longing in the heart and soul of each person to find meaning in his or her life. We try to express in some way, through the physical reality of our lives, the stirrings we feel within our souls. Although there is a wide diversity of human experience, and although every life offers something unique and unrepeatable, we all share one simple, clear, and yet inconceivably profound truth: we are the Beloved, which means we are in a relationship with the One Who Loves. This foundational truth is what actually gives our lives the meaning we are truly seeking, if only we would embrace our true identity in God and enter into relationship with Him. We cannot and do not create our own identity — our identity comes from our Creator alone. The Catechism of the Catholic Church provides us a beautiful quotation from St. Catherine of Siena which gives us a glimpse of our identity in God’s eyes. St. Catherine writes: “What made you establish man in so great a dignity? Certainly, the incalculable love by which you have looked on your creature in yourself! You are taken with love for her; for by love indeed you created her, by love you have given her a being capable of tasting your eternal Good.” (CCC 356).
We see many agendas in the world today that relate to human identity, in particular “sexual identity.” One that is very much before our eyes in this time is the LGBTQ agenda. As I stated in my pastoral letter from September 12, 2023: “The Church teaches that those who experience feelings of same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria do not sin simply because they have such feelings, but freely acting upon these feelings is sinful and not in accordance with God’s design for His children.”
Prior to his election as Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger wrote: “In Genesis 3, we find that this truth about persons being an image of God has been obscured by original sin. There inevitably follows a loss of awareness of the covenantal character of the union these people had with God and with each other. The human body retains its ‘spousal significance’ but this is now clouded by sin. Thus, in Genesis 19:1-11, the deterioration due to sin continues in the story of the men of Sodom. There can be no doubt of the moral judgement made there against homosexual relations.” (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons, October 1986, para. 6).
Cardinal Ratzinger continued: “To choose someone of the same sex for one’s sexual activity is to annul the rich symbolism and meaning, not to mention the goals, of the Creator’s sexual design. Homosexual activity is not a complementary union, able to transmit life, and so it thwarts the call to a life of that form of self-giving which the Gospel says is the essence of Christian living. This does not mean that homosexual persons are not often generous and giving of themselves; but when they engage in homosexual activity, they confirm within themselves a disordered sexual inclination which is essentially self-indulgent.” (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons, October 1986, para. 7).
We must be loving but clear, therefore, that those who carry the burden of same-sex attraction must not act upon these inclinations because such activities are contrary to the biological and God-given identity of the individual, and therefore contrary to the will of God in all cases. We as their clergy, family, and friends must surround these individuals with love and support so they may embrace their crosses and live out their authentic, God-given identity.
The transgender movement is another face of the LGBTQ agenda, and it is also at odds with the Catholic understanding of the human being. This movement seeks to fundamentally alter the way our world views the biological and God-given identity of each person. A rapidly increasing number of young people are being caught up in the transgender movement in these times rather than being told the truth of who they are as a beloved child of God. We can certainly acknowledge that there are complex reasons why a person may have feelings of gender dysphoria, but it is important for each person to understand that regardless of feelings, a person’s biological identity is given by God, and it is unchangeable by man. Parents should not be afraid to address the falsehood of gender ideology with their children in an age-appropriate manner, and parents should also reinforce the fact that although hormones and surgeries might change one’s appearance, those medical procedures cannot change the sex of even one cell of the body.
Many who support the agenda of “transgenderism” would state that when a biological male identifies as a female and has “gender reassignment,” this is in actuality a “gender confirmation” as his anatomy now reflects his “true gender.” The Catechism states, however, that: “The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the ‘form’ of the body: i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature.” (CCC 365). And also, “Man and woman have been created, which is to say, willed by God: on the one hand, in perfect equality as human persons; on the other, in their respective beings as man and woman. ‘Being man’ or ‘being woman’ is a reality which is good and willed by God…” (CCC 369). Therefore, transition surgeries or elective medical treatment given for the purpose of attempting to “transition” a person to a gender other than his or her God-given biological sex are gravely evil. (Note: There are rare medical cases of intersex individuals who have been born with an unclear biological sex or both male and female characteristics. These cases are beyond the scope of this pastoral letter and should be addressed with your pastor and medical team.)
It is important to note here that we must ALWAYS, ALWAYS treat all people with respect, compassion, and recognition of their intrinsic dignity. Therefore, men and women with homosexual tendencies or with gender dysphoria must be treated with love and compassion and should always be respected as the precious children of God that they are. This includes telling them the truth in charity.
All of this brings us to the upcoming Synod on Synodality which is emerging as an attempt by some to change the focus of Catholicism from eternal salvation of souls in Christ, to making every person feel affirmed regardless of what choices they have made or will make in life. One of the topics that reportedly will be discussed during the Synod is the blessing of same-sex relationships. Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, stated in July 2023, when asked about blessings for homosexual couples: “If a blessing is given in such a way that it does not cause that confusion, it will have to be analyzed and confirmed.” However, we must look to the perennial and unchanging teaching of the Church-such a blessing would not be licit and, therefore, would undoubtedly cause confusion. In fact, the very same office, the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith, released a statement on March 15, 2021, entitled Responsum of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to a dubium regarding the blessing of the unions of persons of the same sex. In this Responsum, the previous Prefect of the Congregation, Luis Cardinal Ladaria, stated that God “does not and cannot bless sin” and that, “For the above mentioned reasons, the Church does not have, and cannot have, the power to bless unions of persons of the same sex in the sense intended above.” Because truth cannot change, we must acknowledge that the Dicastery cannot come to a different conclusion now which would overturn the original statement of truth from the same office. Truth is based on God’s Divine Word as revealed in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, and as guarded by the Magisterium of the Church. Therefore, any attempt to permit blessings of same-sex unions would be an attack upon the Sacred Deposit of Faith.
Additionally, the Responsum also stated the following: “Blessings belong to the category of the sacramentals, whereby the Church ‘calls us to praise God, encourages us to implore his protection, and exhorts us to seek his mercy by our holiness of life.’ In addition, they ‘have been established as a kind of imitation of the sacraments, blessings are signs above all of spiritual effects that are achieved through the Church’s intercession.’ Consequently, in order to conform with the nature of sacramentals, when a blessing is invoked on particular human relationships, in addition to the right intention of those who participate, it is necessary that what is blessed be objectively and positively ordered to receive and express grace, according to the designs of God inscribed in creation, and fully revealed by Christ the Lord. Therefore, only those realities which are in themselves ordered to serve those ends are congruent with the essence of the blessing imparted by the Church. For this reason, it is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage (i.e., outside the indissoluble union of a man and a woman open in itself to the transmission of life), as is the case of the unions between persons of the same sex. The presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued and appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing, since the positive elements exist within the context of a union not ordered to the Creator’s plan.” (Responsum of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to a dubium regarding the blessing of the unions of persons of the same sex, March 15, 2021).
I want to reiterate that this is not an attempt in any way to discriminate against those who carry the burden of same-sex attraction, but rather it is a reminder of the truth of the liturgical rite and of the nature of the sacramentals. We cannot honor God who is truth by attempting to offer blessings which run counter to His truth.
In closing, I would like to say to those with same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria, Christ loves you and the Catholic Church welcomes you. We are all struggling to grow in holiness. I invite you to come and sit with us, pray with us, worship with us, and experience the overwhelming power of God’s love and mercy with us. The truth is, at the core of our existence is Love, and there is no power in Heaven or on Earth that can keep the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit from loving us fully and completely. We are invited at every moment to embrace the love that God offers us, but in His infinite wisdom and goodness He does not force Himself upon us. Love is a choice, and it is always a sacrifice, but it is a sacrifice He first made for us, and it is a choice He is calling us to make for Him. Let the scales fall from our eyes that we may get a glimpse of how much Our Father loves us as His Beloved and run to Him always as the source of our ultimate fulfillment. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1).
May the Lord bless you and may you find your true identity in the abundance of His boundless love.
Remaining your humble father and servant
Most Reverend Joseph E. Strickland
Bishop of Tyler, Texas
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