Pope Francis has removed Bishop Joseph Strickland

[Denise]

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/break ... trickland/

Sign petition at the end of the article please

[MarieT]

I was worried about this happening.

Didn't think francis would go through with it. I find it difficult calling him 'francis' -

when i think of the humble st francis, a different imagery comes to mind. A leader that gave authority to others and didnt want to be a leader.....all were equal....he listened to all and always the peacemaker was able to keep the communion / the koinonia alive and dynamic.

we must continue to pray for Bp Strickland.

We see from past that leaders like Cardinal Burke removed from his main office, Cardinal Sarah forced to retire, Cardinal Pell imprisoned despite evidence proving innocent beyond doubt, then when released suddenly dying, Archbishop Ganswein former leading role of papal household,

These have all collaborated in books to bring the truth about the faith.

The latest "Credo" by Bishop Schneider may have repercussions......he presents the faith as it was handed down so as to assist the laity with possible confusions .....Bishop Strickland and Cardinal Sarah feature in the opening with statements...

please pray for these loyal shepherds
safeguarding the Deposit of Faith
as they are called to do

[Denise]

From Fr. Paul Weinberger

Dear Friends,

Yesterday was the Feast of Pope St. Leo the Great. At the Council of Chalcedon in the year 451, his personal letter to the Fathers of that Council is today called "the Tome of Leo." When the Tome of Leo was read aloud the 520 Bishops they all applauded and with universal acclamation they said: "Peter has spoken through Leo."

Now that Feast of Pope St. Leo the Great has a gravitational pull which cannot be denied. And it was the same Pope St. Leo who left the safety of the city walls of Rome to confront Atilla the Hun and dissuade him from attacking and pillaging the city. A miraculous figure of a man/Angel in the sky with a flaming sword was seen by Atilla and the Huns. The Huns left and the city was saved.

That Feast was Friday - yesterday.

Today, Saturday, is the Feast of St. Martin of Tours who was a Bishop an exorcist. Just 3 years after St. Martin died in France, Pope St. Leo the Great was born.

Today it is almost as if nobody has a calendar of the lives of the Saints. Read a thorough life of St. Martin of Tours and you'll see all kinds of parallels including heresy and exile. St. Martin fought heresy which denied Christ as God - His Divinity. And he fought the devil, even while he lay dying.

And tomorrow, Sunday, is the Feast of St. Josaphat who was martyred because he would not let his flock be taken away and given to the Russian Orthodox. He offered his life to be martyr for Unity with St. Peter the Apostle and Rome. The area in which he lived in died is Ukraine. Does that sound familiar?

The word "martyr" is rendered in English as "witness." These are 3 witnesses which surround this news about Bp.Strikland and Tyler.

In fact St. Josaphat's remains/relics are in the minor Altar nearest to the High Altar at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and the bones of the first Pope.

Let us move from Europe to the USA. Next week there is the meeting of US Bishops in Baltimore. Bp Strickland will dominate that meeting even though he will NOT be there in person. Just wait and see what I mean.

This morning I got a phone call from some friends that a mutual friend is arriving here later today. I'll see her tomorrow. She is Marlene Watkins and she founded the North American Lourdes Volunteers. Lourdes Volunteers (bing.com)

That site tells you all about her work at Lourdes. Last year she wrote a book on Lourdes. That link above gives that information.

It was on February 11, 1858 that Our Lady told St. Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes, France her name: "I am the Immaculate Conception."

On February 11, 2020 I had lunch with Bp Strickland in Tyler and asked him to allow me to work as a Priest in Tyler. He said yes: "Come on. There's plenty of work for you."

The Cathedral in Tyler is named for the Immaculate Conception. And the Immaculate Conception is the Patroness of the Diocese of Tyler.

And on and on it goes.

God is in charge.

Now Bp Strickland will be used by God and Our Lady just as St. Bernadette. St. Bernadette said that after being the messenger at Lourdes her life was then obscure, hidden, like a broom which is used to sweep the floor is put back into the closet out of sight.

Of course St. Bernadette is NOT obscure. Her body is incorrupt and on display in Nevers, France for over 150 years. That's not exactly obscure.

God has given Bp Strickland work to do. And this "glitch" which was reported today is part of that work. Pray for him and all those involved in this, including the Pope.

May God bless you!

Fr. Paul

[Denise]

Bp. Strickland responds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOpCL9d_S1Q

[MarieT]

Fr Paul is a great witness of reading the signs of the times. What God sends through messages.

Continuing prayers for Bishop Strickland

[MarieT]

Just hours after Pope Francis removed Bishop Joseph Strickland as the head of the Diocese of Tyler, the Texas prelate went public to share his side of the story — filling in some blanks in the gripping saga that has put the now-former ordinary of the small northeastern Texas diocese into the global spotlight, but also leaving other critical questions unanswered.

“I really can't look to any reason except I've threatened some of the powers that be with the truth of the Gospel,” said Strickland, a controversial prelate who regularly speaks out against what he sees as attacks on the teachings of the Catholic Church to his sizable social media following.

During the interview, Strickland also underscored that Pope Francis has the authority to remove him from diocesan governance, and frequently encouraged those upset or confused by the development to pray for the pope and not to leave the Church.

good call - The Church is holy because of the link with the Divine that sustains it through the Holy Spirit working in and through it. It would be catastrophic if bishops left breaking that communion that is required, but instead to pray and trust that God holds this in His hands and it needs to happen for a greater plan. For a bishop to leave, then that will reveal that the trust in God has waned for that individual. Please keep all our holy clergy in prayers.

But the 30-minute media appearance did not answer several key unknowns in the Strickland saga, such as what the Vatican’s stated reasons — if any were given — were for the dramatic step, and also, concretely, what comes next for the now diocese-less bishop

Strickland shared that he had been asked to resign on Nov. 9, but that he "couldn’t, of my will, abandon the flock that I’d been given.”

...following a June apostolic visitation by two retired American bishops at the behest of the Vatican that included “an exhaustive inquiry into all aspects of the governance and leadership” of Tyler under Strickland, a recommendation was made to Pope Francis that “the continuation in office of Bishop Strickland was not feasible.”

After months of deliberation, the Texas bishop was presented with a request to resign, and “the Holy Father removed Bishop Strickland from the Office of Bishop of Tyler” when the prelate declined the request, Cardinal DiNardo wrote.

The findings of the apostolic visitation have not been published, nor has the Vatican disclosed why Strickland was removed from office.

Seriously? he is removed because 2 retired bishops told the pope he should be removed? No disclosure of what they said though, so no contest?.....
Is francis removing a bishop on the word of mouth of 2 others not by looking at the fruits of the Bishop?

When asked what was behind Pope Francis’ decision, Strickland said, “The only answer I have to that is because forces in the Church right now don’t want the truth of the Gospel.” He added, “They want it changed. They want it ignored.”

Bishop Strickland and others are rightly concerned. The pope or the college of bishops have NO authority to change the truth of the Gospel. It is out of their jurisdiction and prohibited.

As the teaching office of the Church their role is to teach, explain, support the lay faithful in their ministry etc.....they cannot change the authoritative canonical books in the Bible.

Strickland did not accuse Pope Francis of being part of this push to undermine Church teaching, but he did say that “many forces are working at him and influencing him to make these kinds of decisions.” For those "forces," the bishop said, “I’m a problem,” and so they pushed for the “removal of a bishop for standing with the Gospel.”

interestingly in previous posts this was covered, that francis on some aspects doesnt have expertise to discuss or notions about some topics....

these forces tried it on pope benedict.....he would not succumb to dabbling with the authoritative canonical teachings of the church

For instance, Strickland tweeted on May 12 that he rejected what he called Pope Francis’ “program of undermining the Deposit of Faith” — a provocation, according to media reports, Vatican figures said “crossed the line,” prompting the apostolic visitation.

ah so it wasnt a 'visit by 2 unknown retirees" that told the pope to remove him

He has also repeatedly criticized the pope for a "dangerous" lack of clarity in his statements, especially related to sexuality, and has been a vocal critic of Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality.

as have the majority of bishops anyway.....what does that tell you

"Regrettably, it may be that some will label as schismatics those who disagree with the changes being proposed," Strickland wrote in a public letter in August. "Instead, those who would propose changes to that which cannot be changed seek to commandeer Christ's Church, and they are indeed the true schismatics."

indeed....saying it as it is....

given what he sees as the success of the diocese under his leadership, he couldn’t identify any other reason for his removal other than the threat he poses to those trying to change Church teaching.

we addressed this in earlier posts about the concerns where bergoglio's papacy is going...

What will he do now?
Bishop Strickland acknowledged that he will need to “honestly unpack” what it means to no longer be the bishop of Tyler, and to “sort of regroup” in terms of what his role as a “successor of the Apostles without a local diocese to care for” will look like going forward.

complete story

[Denise]

Bishop Strickland Becomes a Victim for the Church He Loves

The removal of Bishop Joseph Strickland is the culmination of a process that began on a cold morning in Baltimore five years ago today.

https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/bish ... 38c6455e8c

[Denise]

Here is Bishop Schneider's statement on Bishop Strickland's deposition.

"The one charge which is now sure to secure severe punishment is the careful keeping of the traditions of the Fathers." These words of St. Basil (Ep. 243) can most aptly illustrate the deposition of the Bishop of Tyler, TX/USA, His Excellency Joseph E. Strickland. The deposition of Bishop Joseph E. Strickland signifies a black day for the Catholic Church of our day. We are witnessing a blatant injustice towards a bishop who did his duty in preaching and defending with parrhesia the immutable Catholic faith and morals and in promoting the sacredness of the liturgy, especially in the immemorial traditional rite of the Mass. All understand, and even the declared enemies of this Confessor Bishop, that the accusations brought against him are ultimately insubstantial and disproportionate and were used as a welcome opportunity to silence an uncomfortable prophetic voice within the Church.

What happened to the Bishops during the Arian crisis in the 4th century, who were deposed and exiled only because they intrepidly preached the traditional Catholic Faith, is again happening in our day. At the same time several Bishops, who publicly support heresy, liturgical abuses, gender ideology and openly invite their priests to bless same-sex couples, are not in the least importuned or sanctioned by the Holy See.

Bishop Strickland will probably go down in history as an "Athanasius of the Church in the USA", who however, unlike St. Athanasius, is not persecuted by the secular power, but incredibly by the Pope himself. It seems that a kind of "purge" of Bishops, who are faithful to the immutable Catholic Faith and the Apostolic discipline, and which has been going on already for some time, has reached now a decisive phase.

May the sacrifice, which Our Lord asked from Bishop Strickland bear plenty spiritual fruits for time and eternity. Bishop Strickland and other faithful Bishops, who were already asked to resign, who are currently marginalized or who will be the next in der row, should say in all sincerity to Pope Francis: "Holy Father, why are you persecuting and beating us? We tried to do what all holy Popes asked us to do? With fraternal love we offer the sacrifice of this kind of persecution and exile for the salvation of your soul and for the good state of the Holy Roman Church. Indeed, we are your best friends, Most Holy Father!"

+ Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Mary in Astana

[MarieT]

wow, he has thrown it out there

recall a previous post where i mentioned the book put together to safeguard the faith,

these priests were being 'watched' and now schneider has nobly defended his fellow bishop and given francis another one to remove...required amo to remove him

we must fervently pray for these faithful shepherds that are removed from the flock

a reminder as Bishop Strickland exhorted.......its not the catholic holy church,
stay in the communion with the church and pray
God sees and knows all
this will be settled according to his divine plan

people leaving the church is what satan wants - foil his plan by praising God and praying that God's will be done and keeping communion with the one holy catholic and apostolic church - the Roman Catholic Church

in God's hands we commend holy mother church knowing that the spirit is always guiding it
and that those who act contrary do so at their own peril by removing themselves from that communion

they are to be pitied and prayed for

[Denise]

Amen