"Since the Vatican and the USCCB officially announced the dismissal of Bishop Joseph Strickland from his position as head of the Diocese of Tyler, TX last Saturday, Catholics in the U.S. have been trying to make sense of the extreme measure.
Neither the Vatican nor an official statement from Cardinal Daniel DiNardo gave any justification.
Apostolic visitations of bishops (like the one the Vatican recently ordered in Tyler) and bishop removals are not frequent occurrences in the Church. They are not unheard of, however, and have become more common since Pope Francis approved the Motu Proprio 'Vos Estis Lux Mundi' ('You are the Light of the World') to streamline evaluations and punishments of bishops who have mishandled cases of sexual abuse in their dioceses.
Four U.S. bishops have resigned or been barred from ministry since the release of Vos Estis: Bishop Richard Frank Stika of Knoxville, TN, Bishop Michael Hoeppner of Crookston, MN, Bishop Michael Joseph Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston, WV, and Richard Joseph Malone of Buffalo, NY. Pope Francis also removed Bishop Martin Holley from Memphis, TN in 2018 after a Vatican-led investigation into accusations of administrative and financial mismanagement.
Several other U.S. bishops have been investigated and cleared or are still under investigation per Vos Estis.
In all those other cases, the Vatican clearly explained its apostolic visitations and dismissals. The case of Bishop Strickland, on the other hand, is an anomaly. The Vatican-ordered apostolic visitation to Strickland’s diocese in June was secretive and remains unexplained, and the announcement of his removal was not accompanied by any explanation either.
Unlike any other U.S. bishop, Strickland has been openly critical about what he believes is Francis’ abandonment of traditional Catholic doctrine. Strickland’s critics point out not only his recent pastoral letters, but his outspokenness on social media.
He has stated on X (formerly Twitter): 'I believe Pope Francis is the Pope but it is time for me to say that I reject his program of undermining the Deposit of Faith.' On YouTube, Strickland pushed back on the pope’s enthusiasm for the Synod on Synodality, saying 'all this synodality is garbage as far as I’m concerned. It just is not living the truth.'"