Pope forcibly removes a leading US conservative, Texas bishop Strickland

Bishop Strickland is a conservative who is active on social media and has been a fierce critic of the pontiff and some of his priorities

Pope Francis on Saturday forcibly removed the bishop of Tyler, Texas, a firebrand conservative prelate active on social media who has been a fierce critic of the pontiff and has come to symbolize the polarization within the U.S. Catholic hierarchy.

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 as the temporary administrator.

Strickland, 65, has emerged as a leading critic of Francis, accusing him in a tweet earlier this year of “undermining the deposit of faith.” He has been particularly critical of Francis’ recent meeting on the future of the Catholic Church during which hot-button issues were discussed, including ways to better welcome LGBTQ+ Catholics.

Earlier this year, the Vatican sent in investigators to look into his governance of the diocese, amid reports that priests and laypeople in Tyler had complained and that he was making unorthodox claims.

The Vatican never released the findings and Strickland had insisted he wouldn’t resign voluntarily, saying in media interviews that he was given a mandate to serve as bishop in 2012 by the late Pope Benedict XVI and couldn’t abdicate that responsibility.

The conservative website LifeSiteNews, which said it interviewed Strickland on Saturday, quoted him as saying one of the reasons given for his ouster was his refusal to implement Francis’ 2021 restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass.

Francis’ crackdown on the old liturgy has become a rallying cry for traditionalist Catholics opposed to pontiff’s progressive bent. Strickland told LifeSite he refused to implement the restrictions “because I can’t starve out part of my flock.”

He said he stood by his decision, would do it again and “I feel very much at peace in the Lord and the truth that he died for.”

His firing sparked an immediate outcry among some conservatives and traditionalists who had held up Strickland as a leading point of Catholic reference to counter Francis’ progressive reforms. Michael J. Matt, editor of the traditionalist newspaper The Remnant, wrote that with the firing, Francis was “actively trying to bury fidelity to the Church of Jesus Christ.”

“This is total war,” Matt wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Francis is a clear and present danger not only to Catholics the world over but also to the whole world itself.”

The two Vatican investigators sent into investigate Strickland — Bishop Dennis Sullivan of Camden, N.J., and the retired bishop of Tucson, Ariz., Bishop Emeritus Gerald Kicanas — “conducted an exhaustive inquiry into all aspects of the governance and leadership of the diocese,” said the head of the church in Texas, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo

After their investigation, a recommendation was made to Francis that “the continuation in office of Bishop Strickland was not feasible,” DiNardo said in a statement Saturday.

The Vatican asked Strickland to resign Nov. 9, but he declined, prompting Francis to remove him from office two days later, DiNardo’s statement said.

It is rare for the pope to forcibly remove a bishop from office. Bishops are required to offer to resign when they reach 75. When the Vatican uncovers issues with governance or other problems that require a bishop to leave office before then, the Vatican usually seeks to pressure him to offer to resign for the good of his diocese and the church.

That was the case when another U.S. bishop was forced out earlier this year following a Vatican investigation. Knoxville, Tenn. Bishop Richard Stika resigned voluntarily, albeit under pressure, following allegations he mishandled sex abuse allegations, and his priests complained about his leadership and behavior.

But with Strickland, the Vatican statement made clear he had not offered to resign, and that Francis had instead “relieved” him from his job.

Francis has not been shy about his concerns about the right wing in the U.S. Catholic hierarchy, which has been split between progressives and conservatives who long found support in the doctrinaire papacies of St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, particularly on issues of abortion and same-sex marriage.

Strickland backed Vigano’s conspiracy theories (theories rather than conspiracies themselves, right?) about the COVID-19 pandemic, and on Saturday Vigano wrote that Strickland’s ouster showed a “cowardly form of authoritarianism” by Francis. “This affair will reveal who stands with the true Church of Christ and who chooses to stand with His declared enemies,” Vigano wrote on X.

Local subreddit is pissed about the Palestine protest today

If you see a gofundme request for the , report it. I've already seen a couple on social media.

According to their FAQ:

Can I raise funds for the military?

No. While you may raise funds for humanitarian aid, fundraising to support any armed conflict is not allowed, regardless of the country. This includes funding weapons, protective gear, defensive equipment, travel to participate in any armed conflict except as required by a national government, or goods and services for soldiers, territorial defense or security force, and more.

DISGUSTING❗️ Palestinian girls are subjected to abuse by occupation soldiers in the Shuafat camp in Al-Quds! This is sexual harassment! CW: Sexual violence

new Moon of Alabama

A Few Notes On The War On Palestine

Having been lightly prodded by the Biden administration the Netanyahoo regime in Palestine agreed to split its days into a 20 hours block dedicated to genociding Palestinians and a 4 hours block for ethnic cleansing.

continues at https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/11/notes-on-the-war-on-palestine.html

U.S. diplomats slam Israel policy in leaked memo - POLITICO

The document offers a window into internal fury at the State Department over President Joe Biden’s Middle East policies.

State Department staffers offered a blistering critique of the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war in a dissent memo obtained by POLITICO, arguing that, among other things, the U.S. should be willing to publicly criticize the Israelis.

Slams? Fury? Blistering? I'm certain they didn't even use the word "must". Anyway - there's this...

The memo has two key requests: that the U.S. support a ceasefire, and that it balance its private and public messaging toward Israel, including airing criticisms of Israeli military tactics and treatment of Palestinians that the U.S. generally prefers to keep private.

I noticed something I hadn't seen since the war started. An American correspondent in Israel streaming live wearing business clothes. Is this meant to mean that - bad pun intended - it's business as usual in Tel Aviv?

Also an MNSBC anchor just called the four hour pause a "window of hope". And then she asked a go-to military guy (an ex-supreme commander of NATO) what he thought of it. In unsurprising news - he's a MIC mouthpiece.

#BREAKING| According to testimonies by Palestinians displaced from Al Naser neighborhood in western #Gaza, American soldiers were on the ground participating in #Israel's offensive on #Gaza.

https://twitter.com/qudsnen/status/1723791891311792484
https://nitter.net/qudsnen/status/1723791891311792484

Maybe it’s because I just had my covid booster but it just feels so overwhelming and depressing like. It’s mask off genocide and the democrats apparently can’t even be driven by self interest, totally willing to tank their own numbers and maybe throw an election just to prop up fascism Make it make sense

To add to my earlier point of 17,000 South Africans in the IDF - Isnotreal isn't allowing the Irish to leave the Gaza Strip (and probably anyone with South African citizenship either).

Just like in literally , the pro-Apartheid militants are massacring other South Africans with impunity.

Uncritical support to extradite the 17,000 and feed them to the big cats in the Johannesburg Zoo. I get free admission and snacks then.

Leftist subs need to stop going private because of Vaushite/Destiny brigaders. It's only fueling them more.

I am nationalizing the lathe and putting it under communist control, effective immediately

The real reason the Zapistanis are dissolving their municipalities is because they will soon announce the organization of the Lower Mexican Soviet Republic, and aim to liberate all of Mexico from capitalism

Keir Starmer is battling to reassert his authority within the Labour party over the conflict in Gaza, with four shadow ministers prepared to quit in the coming days and up to 10 others on “resignation watch”.

The Labour leader is facing a rebellion by as many as a dozen shadow ministers, who sources say are ready to resign rather than vote against calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East, which Starmer has refused to back.

Several Labour MPs say they are under huge pressure from party members and constituents to take a firmer stance against the Israeli invasion of Gaza, as tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in pro-Palestinian protests in London this weekend.

A Labour official said party leaders were closely watching as many as 15 shadow ministers who have high numbers of Muslim constituents for signs they are about to quit, after the resignation of Imran Hussain on Tuesday night. None are understood to be in the shadow cabinet.

One Labour frontbencher told the Guardian:

My position has always been [that] the only way forward is a ceasefire. The pause [as advocated by Starmer] will not solve the problem. Someone needs to say enough is enough.

Another said:

I have over 600 emails on this which is more than any other subject ever, including Brexit and Covid I don’t know a Labour MP who isn’t under pressure at the moment.

- The Guardian

Does anybody want to add some context and make some predictions? I'm American so this is all Greek to me.

[Edit - I made a small one.]

In the past 24 hours, the Al-Qassam Brigades managed to completely/partially destroy 15 military vehicles on the outskirts of the Beach Camp and in Beit Hanoun. They also targeted invading forces with dozens of mortar shells and engaged in clashes with them.

the IDF seems to give out ranks like how strip mall tae kwon do schools give everyone a black belt. if you show up more than two weeks in a row, you’re made a lieutenant colonel. they have maybe 20 corporals in the entire army

By slammer on twitter

I have a blueskkky code if anyone wants it

No Palestinian Authority in post-war Gaza: Netanyahu

Israel’s leader has ruled out a role for the current Palestinian Authority government in Gaza once the war between Israel and Hamas is over.

“There will have to be something else there,” he said when asked whether the PA, which has partial administrative control in the occupied West Bank, may govern Gaza after the war.

“There won’t be a civilian authority that educates their children to hate Israel, to kill Israelis, to wipe out the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said.

- Al Jazeera

Ukrainian military officer coordinated Nord Stream pipeline attack

Huh.

"We found a Mein Kampf book that is in pristine condition in a war zone totally not staged!!!!!"

In Gaza, ‘even children think of death’, says resident

Yousri al-Ghoul, a Palestinian political writer, said Israel is committing “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza.

Al-Ghoul left al-Shati refugee camp for Jabalia in northern Gaza.

“We didn’t know where to go,” he told Al Jazeera. Al-Ghoul said he and his family did not make the trip to the south due to safety concerns.

He said people who made it south have told him that Israeli troops set up multiple checkpoints, “killed many and took many as prisoners stole their money, stole their jewellery, everything they have”.

“No place in Gaza is safe,” he said. “We don’t have fuel, we don’t have bakeries, we don’t have bread, we don’t have water.

“Everyone here, even children, think of death.”

-Al Jazeera

Awful. And that's the first I've heard of checkpoints in Gaza.

Mahmoud Abbas is 87 years old, even older than Biden

I stg if this massacre ends in a puff of pink smoke announcing Netanyahu's baby daughter I'm gonna be so mad

We've entered that part of the war where all the uncertainties feel mostly settled and now it's just grind and I hate it.

All avenues for aid feel like they're closed. All pressures for a ceasefire feel closed. Best we can do is getting unions to strike against support.

North Gaza will eventually be defeated, it's a matter of time and grind on the current trajectory with no other forces doing anything worthwhile (fuck you hezbollah). Israel will hand it over to their puppets at the PA and will regularly intervene in any attempts to dislodge the PA's control there. This will cost Israel a lot but it won't matter as every other power in the region has made it clear that they're cucked.

Either a huge surprise happens and one of the players actually does something (unlikely now) or this is the path things are on.

once the news mega hits posts lemmy will fall

And then along came a very powerful leader, you know who that is, and he said, 'no more.'

Edit:

More content

There’s nobody in Hollywood who can play the role of President Xi. The look, the strength, the voice.

Kim Jong-un I have a good relationship with…he’s a tough smart guy

Israel has an extremely racist football team apparently: https://nitter.cz/redstreamnet/status/1721478751265931466

Cornel West gets a lot of shit and rightfully so, but I just saw him essentially say that NATO aggression caused the Ukraine war on CNN. I'll have to find the clip, but shit was wild

Here's the edited version his campaign put out on his twitter. He couched it in lib statements but also included the hashtag #AbolishNATO

I'm interested if this signals any shift in the discourse at all wrt NATO, etc in the general lib populace or if this will be dismissed as wack and fanatic

We all know "world war" only happens in europe if it's in the early 20th century and must involve germans etc., but no, really, what is a world war and why does the category matter?

https://colombiareports.com/colombia-to-press-war-crime-charges-against-netanyahu/

Jim Acosta on CNN tonight to some other bozo clown: "Do we know who's firing on the people trying to leave the hospitals?"

Gee pal I dunno, it's probably evil Hamas shooting their own people to make perfect heaven baby angel soldiers the IDF look bad.