Pope Francis fires anti-LGBTQ+ MAGA bishop

Pope Francis has dismissed a Texas bishop who has become a leading voice in the post-Trump far-right movement. The rare and dramatic move was taken after a Vatican inquiry into his behavior.

A darling of the uber-MAGA crowd and the religious right, Bishop Joseph Strickland was fired after being asked to resign earlier in the week. He refused.

Related:

The Vatican says transgender people can be baptized, contradicting U.S. bishops

The head of the Catholic Church also discussed whether LGBTQ+ people can become godparents.

Strickland had become one of the leading critics of the Pontiff, declaring that the Pope was too liberal on issues like LGBTQ+ people, divorce, and the role of women in the church. He also took umbrage at a Vatican decision that mass should be held in a country’s native language instead of Latin.

Global perspectives delivered right to your inbox

Our newsletter bridges borders to bring you LGBTQ+ news from around the world.

Daily

Weekly

Good News

After the Pope had been asked repeatedly about the role of LGBTQ+ people in the church and how much they should be accepted, he said it was a “travesty” that the questions were even being asked.

With a large social media following, a radio show, and frequent appearances in conservative media, the former bishop regularly spent as much time denigrating the Pope as he did attempting to save souls.

Last year, he accused the Pope of attempting to undermine the Catholic faith on his radio show. He supposedly quoted “an anonymous friend” who accused the Pope of being a “usurper” who has “endangered souls by proclaiming that they are justified before God as they are, with no need of repentance.”

“How can you leave him in office after that?” Rev. Timothy Kelly, the pastor of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in the former bishop’s East Texas diocese, asked. “You can’t.”

After the decision to sack the viciously anti-LGBTQ+ church leader was announced, the apostate theme was picked up by other far-right media.

“What if a man were to want to be pope not to build up the body of Christ but to divide the body of Christ?” conservative podcaster Taylor Marshall asked during a live broadcast shortly after the announcement.

The decision doesn’t mean that Strickland will quietly disappear or lose influence inside the religious right movement. He has more Twitter followers than parishioners in the sparsely populated but massively conservative portion of Texas that he led.

The area is one of the most anti-LGBTQ+ in the nation and voted overwhelmingly in favor of former president Donald Trump.