Cardinal DiNardo and the nuncios spoke to me more than once and said, “Stop emphasising the Deposit of Faith so much, and stop speaking in opposition to what is coming out of the Vatican.” As I have said, I could not do that. Ultimately, I am not important – what is important is the truth of the Gospel of Christ. That is what I want to talk about.
Bishop Joseph Strickland is a well-known and well-loved prelate for many conservative Catholics.
Ordained for the Diocese of Dallas in 1985 and appointed Bishop of Tyler, Texas, by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, he has in recent years become a vocal critic of certain Vatican policies which he believes go against “the truth of the Gospel.” He was removed as Bishop of Tyler in 2023 after a Vatican investigation concluded that “the continuation in office of Bishop Strickland was not feasible.”
In this exclusive interview, he discusses his initial perceptions of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, his fellow bishops’ response to his removal, and his reflections on the life of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the SSPX.
CH: Your removal as Bishop of Tyler in November 2023 followed an apostolic visitation and your public criticisms of Pope Francis. You have suggested it was due to speaking the “truth of the Gospel.” Could you elaborate on which specific truths you believe were at odds with Vatican leadership, and how you reconcile your outspokenness with the call for unity in the Church?
S: The truths I have spoken are not mine – they belong to the Gospel and to the Church’s constant teaching. I have defended the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, the truth of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, the reality that only men can be ordained to the priesthood, and the absolute necessity of moral clarity on issues such as gender ideology and same-sex relationships. These are not political positions or personal opinions; they are the perennial teachings of the Catholic Church, rooted in Scripture and Sacred Tradition.
If those truths put me at odds with Vatican leadership, it is not because the truths have changed – it is because, in recent years, there has been a willingness to blur them in the name of pastoral flexibility or cultural accommodation. My conscience will not allow me to remain silent when souls are being misled or confused.
As for unity, authentic unity in the Church is never built on silence in the face of error. True unity is found only in Christ, who is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Unity that ignores truth is merely uniformity – and that is not what Our Lord prayed for on the night before He died. He prayed, “Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). If we are united in Him, we must be united in the truth He revealed.
CH: Following the election of Pope Leo XIV in May 2025, you expressed hope that he would “faithfully uphold the Deposit of Faith.” What are your expectations for his papacy, and how do you believe he might address the tensions you experienced under Pope Francis?
S: When Pope Leo XIV was elected, I expressed the hope that he would faithfully uphold the Deposit of Faith. That hope was genuine – but it has already been tested and, sadly, diminished.
In these first months, the evidence is clear: he has retained Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith – a man whose record includes undermining moral doctrine and approving documents that confuse the faithful on issues such as same-sex blessings. He has appointed bishops who openly support the ordination of women, contrary to the Church’s constant teaching. He has also maintained restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass, depriving the faithful of a liturgy that formed countless saints.
These are not small matters. They represent a continuation of the same pattern we saw under Pope Francis – tolerating, or even promoting, voices that contradict the faith, while sidelining those who speak it plainly.
My own experience in the Diocese of Tyler under Pope Francis’ pontificate, including the visitation led by Cardinal Prevost, was shaped by that same climate of doctrinal ambiguity and punishment for those who resisted it. More important than my own circumstances, however, is the call we all share: to live and proclaim the truth of Christ in love, so that souls may be saved and God may be glorified.
I pray for Pope Leo every day, because the papacy is a sacred trust given by Christ Himself. But praying for the Pope does not mean remaining silent when the flock is being scattered. My expectation – and my plea – is that Pope Leo will break from this path, remove those who undermine the faith, restore clarity to Catholic teaching, and strengthen his brethren in the truth, as Our Lord commanded Peter in Luke 22:32: “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren.”
The times demand it, and the souls of the faithful deserve nothing less.
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