Background
Update — October 7, 2026
- On 16 September, the day the Vatican published A Journey of Hope, its note on interreligious dialogue sixty years after Nostra Aetate, Strickland wrote on X that the statement "must be rejected and repudiated by all who hold Jesus Christ and His Church as the only way to the Father"; LifeSiteNews and InfoVaticana reported his objections to a passage on proselytism (X; LifeSiteNews; InfoVaticana; timeline). No response from Church authorities had been reported in the sources reviewed.
Overview
Joseph Strickland led 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 and named Bishop Joe Vásquez of Austin as apostolic administrator (Vatican News; The Texas Tribune). News reports noted that it is very rare for a pope to remove a diocesan bishop in this way (NBC News). The Vatican did not give a public reason, and the findings of the investigation that preceded the decision have not been published (NBC News; CNA).
Strickland was already well known online for criticism of aspects of Francis's pontificate before his removal. Since then he has become one of the most frequently quoted episcopal voices in conservative and traditionalist Catholic media. This page sets out the documented sequence of events, the official statements, and his public activity since.
Before the removal
Strickland had an active social-media presence as a diocesan bishop. On 12 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; The Catholic Thing). According to OSV News, the post followed an exchange in which Strickland had endorsed a decision by Fr. Robert Spitzer of the Magis Center to cut ties with podcaster Patrick Coffin, after Coffin had questioned the authenticity of Francis's papacy; Strickland then posted again to clarify his own position (OSV News).
In June 2023 the Holy See ordered an apostolic visitation of the diocese. It took place from 19 to 24 June and was conducted by Bishop Dennis Sullivan of Camden, New Jersey, and retired Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona (Vatican News; CNA). Citing an unnamed source, CNA reported that the visitors examined the bishop's use of social media and questions of diocesan management; this has not been officially confirmed (CNA). Strickland said publicly in the following months that he had received no communication from Rome about the outcome (CNA).
On 31 October 2023, immediately after the first assembly of the Synod on Synodality, Strickland addressed the Rome Life Forum, a conference sponsored by LifeSiteNews. In a 46-minute talk he read at length from a letter he said had been written to him by an unnamed friend. OSV News reported that the letter described Francis as a usurper of Peter's chair, and that Strickland himself accused the pope of backing an attack on the sacred (OSV News). OSV News's report on the removal two weeks later led with this accusation.
The removal
According to a statement issued by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo on 11 November 2023, the visitors had made an exhaustive inquiry into the governance and leadership of the diocese and recommended to the pope that Strickland's continuation in office was not feasible. After months of consideration by the Dicastery for Bishops and the pope, Strickland was asked on 9 November to resign, and he declined (CNA). Two days later the Vatican announced that the pope had relieved him of the pastoral governance of the diocese (Vatican News). Strickland had said beforehand that he would not resign voluntarily but would respect the pope's authority if removed (CNA).
In interviews in the following days Strickland offered his own speculation about the reasons for his removal (CNA). On 14 November, as the US bishops met for their fall plenary assembly in Baltimore, he did not attend; instead he led a rosary with a few dozen supporters outside the hotel where the meeting was held. He told CNA that the apostolic nuncio, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, had asked him not to take part; Pierre declined CNA's request for an interview (CNA; National Catholic Reporter).
Bishop Vásquez administered the diocese until 20 December 2024, when Pope Francis named Auxiliary Bishop J. Gregory Kelly of Dallas as the fifth bishop of Tyler (CNA; Archdiocese of San Antonio).
Official statements
The Holy See's public statement was limited to the brief notice of 11 November 2023 reported by Vatican News (Vatican News). The fullest official account came from Cardinal DiNardo's statement, summarised above (CNA). Neither the Vatican nor the diocese has published the visitation's findings or a reason for the decision (NBC News; CNA).
Strickland's public voice since 2023
Since leaving office Strickland has continued to publish statements, letters and podcasts, many of which are republished across conservative and traditionalist Catholic media.
- 2024. In July he criticised the Vatican's handling of the excommunication of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, contrasting its speed with the handling of former cardinal Theodore McCarrick's case, according to InfoVaticana (InfoVaticana); see Viganò's excommunication. On 13 September he responded on X to Pope Francis's remarks in Singapore likening religions to different languages for approaching God, asking for prayer that the pope would clearly state that Jesus Christ is the only way (The Christian Post; for the pope's remarks see Catholic World Report). In November, while the US bishops met in Baltimore, he issued an open letter criticising Francis and accusing fellow bishops of silence (OSV News).
- 2025. In March a letter from Strickland addressed to priests and distributed at an event at Mar-a-Lago urged them to take St. Peter Damian as a model and criticised Pope Francis, The Pillar reported (The Pillar); The Pillar also published an analysis under the headline Did Strickland do a schism? (The Pillar). After the May election of Pope Leo XIV he gave his reaction to Newsweek (Newsweek). On 15 August he launched an online apostolate, Pillars of Faith, which hosts his writings and podcasts (Catholics for Catholics; Pillars of Faith). In an October message he objected to Pope Leo's appointment of Cardinal Blase Cupich to a Vatican City governing body, while stating that he was not speaking in rebellion and remained loyal to the papal office (Pillars of Faith).
- 2026. On 3 February he published a statement on the Society of St. Pius X's announcement of new episcopal consecrations. The SSPX's news service presented his commentary as a plea for apostolic continuity (FSSPX.News); on 23 February Strickland wrote that some had misrepresented his thoughts on the subject, and asked for prayers for Pope Leo and for the SSPX's leaders (X). See SSPX consecrations 2026. In an interview with Newsweek he criticised remarks reportedly made by Trump administration officials to the apostolic nuncio at a closed-door Pentagon meeting in January 2026; the Pentagon has denied that it threatened the Vatican, and the Holy See Press Office said the published account of the meeting did not correspond to the truth (Newsweek; Euronews; RNS). In a letter dated 12 September 2026 and republished by OnePeterFive, he told supporters who feared he had changed sides that he continues to defend the traditional Roman liturgy and has not moved from his positions (OnePeterFive).
Coverage across Catholic media
Mainstream Catholic news services, including CNA, OSV News, The Pillar and National Catholic Reporter, reported the visitation, Cardinal DiNardo's statement and Strickland's responses (sources above). Outlets in the traditionalist and conservative ecosystem have given his statements sustained attention. LifeSiteNews, which sponsored the October 2023 forum where he spoke, publishes his opinion pieces (LifeSiteNews). The Society of St. Pius X's news service reported his removal (SSPX) and later presented his 2026 remarks in its own terms, a framing he partly disputed (FSSPX.News; X). OnePeterFive republished his September 2026 letter (OnePeterFive), and the advocacy group Catholics for Catholics publicised the launch of his apostolate (Catholics for Catholics).
For TradWatch™ readers, the story is a reference point in wider debates over how far a bishop may publicly oppose a pope's teaching or governance; see Papal critique and resistance media.
What to watch
- Whether the Holy See or the Diocese of Tyler publishes anything further about the 2023 visitation's findings.
- How Strickland positions himself in relation to the SSPX after its 2026 consecrations, given his February 2026 statement that his views had been misrepresented.
- The reach of Pillars of Faith and his podcasts, and whether his statements on Pope Leo XIV draw any public response from Church authorities.