Apostolic Visit or Struggle Session?

Church Militant recently broke a story on June 24^th that Bishop Joseph Strickland from Tyler, Texas, would receive an apostolic visit from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops. According to the National Catholic Register, in reference to a similar visit that was conducted in Tolan, France, an apostolic visitation “is defined as ‘extraordinary’ because it is carried out by an authority outside the norms of the community or diocese, in the framework of a temporary mission focused on the resolution of specific problems.”

So what exactly is the problem with Bishop Strickland? Is it his outspoken social media posts on the Covid vaccines? His call for the American people to wake up to the lies coming out of Washington, D.C.? Might his rejection of Pope Francis’ program undermining the Deposit of Faith? His dissent of the proposed heretical discussions at the Synod on Synodality? His pastoral outreach to Joe Biden reminding him that pride does cometh before a fall? His denunciation of Fr. James Martin’s blasphemous claim that gay pride is compatible with the Sacred Heart of Jesus? Or his private screening of Jim Caviezel’s new movie, The Sound of Freedom?

Or was it his speech encouraging the faithful to be “first century Catholics in the 21^st century” at the Los Angeles Dodger’s prayer rally against the rabid anti-Catholic hate group, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgences? Bishop Strickland was the only U.S. bishop who had the courage to attend the prayer rally and now is often referred to affectionately as “America’s Bishop.”

According to Jack Posobiec of Human Events, who attended the LA Dodgers prayer rally and later appeared on Steve Bannon’s “War Room,” sources told him that when Bishop Strickland returned to Texas, two Vatican officials waiting there for him were suddenly and inexplicably very interested in the “administration” of his diocese.  The Pillar named the two officials Bishop Gerald Kicanas and Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Joseph Sullivan, who spent the week before questioning diocesan employees and asking them who might make a good replacement if Bishop Strickland was removed.

John Yep, founder of Catholics for Catholics and one of the organizers of the highly successful Dodger prayer rally, also appeared on “War Room.” Yep related that the Diocese of Tyler is financially solvent and has produced 21 vocations out of a relatively small population of 120,000 Catholics. Sources told Yep that the apostolic visitors accused Bishop Strickland of being “imprudent” on social media.

Apparently, Strickland’s reply was, “Isn’t it imprudent not to tell the truth?”

It is clear that this apostolic visit was nothing more than a struggle session. Up to now, this strategy has worked very well with dissenting priests. The founder of Coalition For Cancelled Priests, Fr. John Lovell, estimates that there are approximately 2,000 cancelled priests nationwide. It appears now that the hierarchy is upping the ante and the bishop purge will soon begin. The cancellation strategy has worked so well with priests, the hierarchy is now targeting bishops utilizing their Marxist hero Saul Alinsky’s “Rule for Radicals” #11: “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it.”

Strickland was singled out to send a clear and ominous message to all the other bishops that speaking the truth is a futile pursuit because you will be the next one on the chopping block. In so doing, those who seek to silence traditional orthodox bishops also employ Alinsky’s Rule #9, “The threat is more terrifying that the thing itself” to keep the rest of the bishops in line lest the same thing happen to them.

Bishop Strickland, to his credit, is undaunted by these Vatican proceedings. In a tweet dated June 25^th, the day after his private meeting with the Apostolic visitors, Strickland wrote,

“To be persecuted for speaking truth is an honor every Christian should be willing to embrace. It is walking with Jesus Christ who is Truth Incarnate. If we know Jesus it is easier to speak His Truth no matter what forces oppose us. The opposition is temporary, Jesus is forever.”

Lay Catholics, this could be our Bud Light moment. If Bishop Strickland is indeed canceled for speaking the truth, we need to peacefully and prayerfully rise up en masse. We can no longer allow those bent on the destruction of the Church free rein to remove from the faithful those brave and courageous priests and bishops who have spoken out against the scandals, corruption and heresy that is right before our eyes.