Bishop Joseph Strickland of Eastern Texas has been “relieved” of his position as head of the Diocese of Tyler by Pope Francis after Strickland’s refusal to resign in a dispute over the church’s LGBTQ inclusion in Catholic practices.

The pope’s decision to fire Strickland was made public in a statement released on Saturday. According to the Vatican, the decision came after an apostolic visitation ordered by the Pope last June in the Diocese of Tyler, which was entrusted to two U.S. bishops, Bishop Dennis Sullivan of Camden, N.J., and Bishop Emeritus Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz.

In the Catholic Church, an apostolic visitation is a papal representative with a transient mission to investigate a special circumstance in a diocese or country, and to submit a report to the Holy See at the conclusion of the investigation.

In the case of Strickland, who had established himself as a public critic of the pontiff, had claimed Francis was “undermining the Deposit of Faith” and a “diabolically disordered clown.” 

Strickland recently criticized the month long conference this past October known as a Synod of Bishops, held in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, regarding the future of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church that ended without a clear course of action for the church on the issues of ordaining women as deacons or the treatment and care for its LGBTQ members.

The report, titled “A synodal church in mission,” did not take a stand on LGBTQ issues despite discussion beforehand that the synod might call on the church to be more welcoming to the LGBTQ community, Reuters reported.

The bishop said publicly that in his opinion it was a “travesty” that the subject regarding the treatment and care for its LGBTQ Catholics was even up for discussion.

“Regrettably, it may be that some will label as schismatics those who disagree with the changes being proposed,” Strickland said. “Instead, those who would propose changes to that which cannot be changed seek to commandeer Christ’s Church.”

Prior to the Synod of Bishops Francis wrote a letter on July 11 saying that he is open to the possibility that the Catholic Church would allow blessings for same-sex unions. 

The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on Monday released the letter that Francis wrote to five cardinals who urged him to reaffirm church teaching on homosexuality.

Then the Vatican released a document stating transgender people, under certain circumstances, can be baptized, serve as godparents, and serve as witnesses to Catholic weddings. The document, which was signed by Francis and a high-level Vatican cardinal, was released Nov. 8 on the website of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

This too was heavily criticized by Strickland who reportedly said he stood by his decision to call the pope out saying that he felt “very much at peace in the Lord and the truth that he died for.”

Cardinal Daniel Nicholas DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston (Texas) released a statement after the pope’s firing of Strickland Saturday:

“The Holy Father has removed Bishop Joseph E. Strickland from the pastoral governance of the diocese of Tyler, United States of America, and has appointed Bishop Joe Vásquez of Austin as apostolic administrator of the same diocese, rendering it ‘sede vacante.’”

DiNardo noted that the prelates who made the visit, Sullivan and Kicanas “conducted an exhaustive inquired into all aspects of the governance and leadership of the Diocese of Tyler by its Ordinary, Bishop Joseph Strickland.”

“As a result of the Visitation,” the statement continues, “the recommendation was made to the Holy Father that the continuation in office of Bishop Strickland was not feasible. After months of careful consideration by the Dicastery for Bishops and the Holy Father, the decision was reached that the resignation of Bishop Strickland should be requested. Having been presented with that request on Nov. 9, 2023, Bishop Strickland declined to resign from office.”

Francis then decided to remove the bishop.

“Pending more permanent arrangements for the Diocese of Tyler,” DiNardo said, “the Holy Father has, at the same time, appointed Bishop Joe Vasquez, Bishop of Austin, as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Tyler.”

DiNardo concluded his statement, “Let us keep Bishop Strickland, the clergy and faithful of the Diocese of Tyler and Bishop Vasquez in our prayers.”