I pray that this effort is prayerful, respectful and focused on Jesus. He is the only support I need and I feel the profound embrace of His Sacred Heart. I appreciate the vigorous faith this is inspired by but please remember I am nothing, Jesus is everything. Viva Cristo Rey! https://t.co/KQufzP9Phz

— Bishop J. Strickland (@BishStrickland) November 12, 2023

On Sunday, Catholic group Knights of the Republic announced a march in Tyler to show support for Strickland.

“Join us on Saturday, Nov 18th in Tyler, TX for a Rosary Procession in defense of Holy Mother Church and Bishop Strickland,” the group wrote on Facebook. …

The Vatican’s brief statement did not give a reason for Strickland’s dismissal. But Strickland told the conservative website LifeSiteNews on Saturday that one of the reasons was his refusal to implement Francis’ 2021 restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass.

“I stand by all the things that were listed as complaints against me,” he told the website, adding that he refused to implement the restrictions because “I can’t starve out part of my flock.”

[I do not live in the Tyler diocese, but I do live in a nearby diocese. A number of people in our parish are outraged over Strickland’s removal, but in truth we don’t really know the specific causes for it. One indisputable cause, however, was insubordination: Strickland had posted a message on Twitter/X that the pope had a “program” for destroying the deposit of faith. That is not an uncommon perception, but when bishops make those kinds of public statements attacking the authority of the pontiff, there will be an inevitable accounting for it. I’m sympathetic to Strickland’s interpretations, but want to see the conclusions of the apostolic visitation before landing firmly one way or the other on his removal. — Ed]