Pope Francis on Saturday forcibly faraway from office the bishop of Tyler, Texas, a conservative lively on social media who has been a fierce critic of the pontiff and a few of his priorities.
A one-line statement from the Vatican said Francis had “relieved” Bishop Joseph Strickland of the pastoral governance of Tyler and appointed the bishop of Austin because the temporary administrator.
Strickland has emerged as a critic of Francis, accusing him in a tweet earlier this 12 months of “undermining the deposit of religion,” and particularly his recent meeting on the long run of the Catholic Church.
The Vatican earlier this 12 months sent in investigators to look into his governance of the diocese, amid reports he was making doctrinally unorthodox claims.
The Vatican has not released the findings of the investigation, and Strickland had insisted he would not resign voluntarily. He has said in media interviews he he was given a mandate to serve by the late Pope Benedict XVI.
