Pope Francis dismisses the Texan priest in response to criticism of measures

Joseph Strickland, a Texan priest who had criticized the Pope for his command of the Catholic church, has been fired by Pope Francis.

Studies at the bishop’s Diocese of Tyler, according to the Vatican, do “relieve” him of his responsibilities.

A prominent figure in a subset of US Catholicism that is opposed to the Pope’s changes is Bishop Strickland.

Francis mentioned the “backwardness” of some US Catholic religion rulers, which led to his expulsion.

In an effort to release the Church’s stance on cultural issues and inclusion, such as pregnancy, transgender rights, and same-sex marriage, Bishop Strickland has launched a number of attacks.

He issued a warning in July that some “basic truths” of Catholic doctrine were under attack, including what he referred to as “undermining” relationship between men and women, which was” as instituted by God.”

He criticized the efforts of those who “reject their obvious physiological God-given identity” as being “disordered.”

In his letter, he claimed that attempting to alter” that which cannot be changed” may cause the Church to experience an unbridgeable split. He cautioned that those who seek change “are the correct schismatics.”

Bishop Strickland, who had originally turned down the chance to resign and was being investigated by the Vatican, publicly challenged the Pope to fire him in a letter published in September.

He stated,” I cannot resign as Bishop of Tyler because that would mean I may be leaving the flock.”

To help him during the analysis, the right-wing” Coalition for Delayed Priests” held a meeting earlier this year.

According to the Vatican, his dismissal” came after an episcopal visitation ordered by the Pope next June in the Diocese of Tyler.” The investigation also examined how the bishop handled its monetary affairs, according to Catholic press.

While Benedict XVI was bishop, Bishop Strickland, 65, was appointed priest in 2012.

All of this comes after the Pope made significant efforts during his pontificate to advance the Church.

The Vatican announced on Thursday that transgender people can be baptized in the Catholic Church so long as there is no scandal or” confusion” involved.

He told a group of chiefs in October that” we cannot be magistrates who just deny, reject, and exclude” and that the Church may be willing to love same-sex couples.

The Pope referred to some people’s underdevelopment as “useless” during a meeting at the World Youth Day festivities in Lisbon.

” By doing this, you lose the authentic history and you turn to ideas for help.” In other words, he continued, beliefs take the place of faith.

His pope has also been heavily influenced by climate change, from a ground-breaking papers on the atmosphere in 2015 to new warnings that the world may get “nearing breaking point” because of it.

Additionally, he has vehemently denounced climate deniers and will attend the UN’s Climate Summit ( COP28 ) later this month, marking the first time a pope has done so since they started in 1995.

The Diocese of Tyler will be briefly run by Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin, according to the Vatican.