Joseph Strickland served as bishop of the Diocese of Tyler in East Texas from 2012 until 11 November 2023, when the Holy See announced that Pope Francis had relieved him of the pastoral governance of the diocese (Vatican News). According to a statement by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the decision followed a June 2023 apostolic visitation and Strickland's refusal, on 9 November, of a request that he resign (CNA). The Vatican has not published the visitation's findings or a reason for the removal (NBC News). See Bishop Strickland's removal.
Before his removal he was known for public criticism of aspects of Francis's pontificate on social media. In May 2023 he posted that he accepted Francis as pope but rejected what he called the pope's program of undermining the Deposit of Faith (OSV News). On 31 October 2023, at the Rome Life Forum sponsored by LifeSiteNews, he read aloud a letter from an unnamed friend that, according to OSV News, called Francis a usurper of Peter's chair, and he himself accused the pope of backing an attack on the sacred (OSV News).
He has continued to comment publicly since. In July 2024 he criticised the Vatican's handling of the excommunication of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò (InfoVaticana); in September 2024 he responded on X to Francis's remarks in Singapore about religions and God (The Christian Post); and in November 2024 he issued an open letter during the US bishops' assembly accusing fellow bishops of silence (OSV News). A March 2025 letter to priests, distributed at an event at Mar-a-Lago, criticised Francis, The Pillar reported (The Pillar). He commented to Newsweek on the election of Pope Leo XIV (Newsweek), and in October 2025 objected to Leo's appointment of Cardinal Blase Cupich to a Vatican City governing body while stating that he was not speaking in rebellion (Pillars of Faith).
In August 2025 he launched Pillars of Faith, an online apostolate that hosts his podcasts and pastoral letters (Catholics for Catholics). In February 2026 he commented on the Society of St. Pius X's announced episcopal consecrations; the SSPX's news service framed his remarks as a plea for apostolic continuity, and he later wrote that some had misrepresented his views (FSSPX.News; X). In a September 2026 letter republished by OnePeterFive he told supporters he still defends the traditional Roman liturgy and has not changed his positions (OnePeterFive). On 16 September 2026 he wrote on X that the Vatican note A Journey of Hope "must be rejected and repudiated" (X; LifeSiteNews).
In December 2020 Strickland co-signed, with Cardinal Janis Pujats and Bishop Athanasius Schneider among others, a statement arguing that vaccines developed with abortion-derived cell lines "cannot be acceptable for Catholics" (The Remnant); see COVID-19 vaccines.