Pope forcibly removes leading US conservative, Texas bishop Strickland

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has forcibly removed from office the bishop of Tyler, Texas. Bishop Joseph Strickland is a conservative who is active on social media and has been a fierce critic of the pontiff and some of his priorities. A one-line statement from the Vatican on Saturday said Francis had “relieved” Strickland of the pastoral governance of Tyler and appointed the bishop of Austin as the temporary administrator. Strickland has emerged as a critic of Francis, accusing him in a tweet earlier this year of “undermining the deposit of faith,” and particularly of his recent meeting on the future of the Catholic Church. The Vatican earlier this year sent in investigators to look into Strickland’s governance of the diocese, amid reports he was making doctrinally unorthodox claims.