Pope Francis fires anti-gay bishop

Bishop Joseph Strickland of Texas has been dismissed by Pope Francis. Joseph Strickland is very popular among traditionalists in the United States and is known to be anti-gay. He also did not shy away from criticizing Pope Francis for welcoming homosexuals into the Church. But in the end he had to be fired. The Vatican has already announced the dismissal of Strickland.

In a statement released on Saturday, the Vatican said, the Holy Father has already Bishop Joseph E. removed Strickland and replaced him with Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin. However, the Vatican did not explain the reason for Strickland’s removal. Pope Francis initially asked Strickland to resign, Vatican News reported. But if he refused, he was fired.

Strickland has previously criticized Pope Francis several times. He opposed the pope’s liberal stance on transgender rights and same-sex marriage. He also accused the Pope of playing with faith.

Earlier this year, the Pope announced that being gay is no longer a sin. However, conservatives and traditionalists among Catholics reject such a declaration by the Pope.

Meanwhile, the Catholic community is not taking well the dismissal of the opposition bishop in this way. Some even call the Pope a ‘dictator’. The Lepanto Institute, a Virginia-based organization dedicated to protecting the Catholic Church, wrote in an X account that Pope Francis removed Bishop Strickland without any legal precedent, like Soviet-era dictators.