Catholic hierarch: Vatican Synod is an abomination

Photo: Bishop Strickland

Photo: Bishop Strickland

On November 13, 2024, in Baltimore, Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, who was removed from pastoral governance of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, by Pope Francis, read an open letter in Baltimore, reports UCA News.

Accusing the Pope of spreading "deadly messages", Strickland asked: "what it will take for more than a few bishops to finally speak up against the false messages constantly flowing from the Vatican under the leadership of Pope Francis?"

"You gather here today, present-day apostles, as the church and, therefore, the world stand perched on the edge of a cliff," he said in a letter he read outside the hotel where the U.S. bishops were holding their annual fall plenary assembly. "And yet you who are entrusted with the keeping of souls choose to speak not a word of the spiritual danger which abounds."

Outside the Marriott Waterfront hotel, the venue for the annual Catholic conference attended by more than 200 bishops, Bishop Strickland set up a spot to address the gathering. However, he did not attend the plenary sessions of the event.

Standing at a podium with a microphone, the removed bishop read aloud his letter, warning bishops of God’s judgment on shepherds who fail to protect the Church. He accused them of "silently watching as the Synod on Synodality took place, an abomination constructed not to guard the Deposit of Faith but to dismantle it, and yet few were the cries heard from you – men who should be willing to die for Christ and His Church."

"Sadly, his (Pope Francis') actions and his policies which promote a relativized version of truth that is not truth at all propel us to a devastating conclusion: the man who occupies the Chair of St. Peter does not love the truth and seeks to reshape it in the image of man," Bishop Strickland said.

It is worth noting that Bishop Strickland was removed from office on November 11, 2023, following an apostolic visitation prompted by his social media posts in May, where he accused Pope Francis of "undermining the Deposit of Faith." Despite his removal, Bishop Strickland has remained active on social media, with an account on X (formerly Twitter) boasting over 215,000 followers.

The Pope's decision to remove Bishop Strickland followed the bishop's public address in Rome on October 31, 2023, where he read excerpts from a lengthy letter attributed to a "dear friend," in which Pope Francis was accused, among other things, of being a "usurper of the Chair of Peter." Later, the bishop himself claimed that Pope Francis supports "an attack on the sacred" emanating from the Vatican.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has not commented on the situation.

As previously reported, Bishop Strickland’s stated that unrepentant sodomites and adulterers cannot receive Communion.

Read also

Bulgarian Church to help Odessa Eparchy build a temple complex

Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria blessed the trip of pilgrims from the UOC to Bulgaria so that they could tell the believers of his Church about the unique construction in Artsyz.

In Myrnohrad, UOC temple once again shelled

The interior decoration of the church has been damaged, the Royal Doors are affected, and there is destruction in the church grounds.

Israeli Catholics protest against authorities' attitude to Pope's death

Israeli Christians have called the delayed condolences and the government's unwillingness to send high-ranking officials to Pope Francis's funeral a grave insult.

On April 28, another hearing in Upper Lavra case to take place in Kyiv

Believers are asked for prayer support.

In vlg. Dovha Balka, UOC temple damaged by shelling

The roof is partially destroyed, and the walls and windows of the church are damaged.

Bulgarian expert: Ukraine – a testing ground for global Church persecution

Journalist Andrey Romanov believes that what is happening in Ukraine is a rehearsal for larger-scale persecutions of Christians that may spread throughout the world.