When someone I don’t particularly like gets disciplined, I try not to gloat and laugh with joy. Now I confess, I have cheered when Donald Trump gets into trouble, but I believe he is a clear-and-present danger to our country, so that’s a different matter.
But what if this individual is one of my Catholic brethren. Well, I certainly need to take a different approach than I do with Donald Trump. First, I cannot jump to conclusions or publish false information about Bishop Strickland because this is bearing false witness against my neighbor and could be interpreted as slander.
Instead of falsely accusing Bishop Strickland of anything, I am going to say what he is doing publicly for all to witness, not any sort of speculation. There is no doubt in my mind that Pope Franics is in the Chair of Peter for such a time as this. With the global threat of religious fascism in many countries, Pope Francis plays a role that only a Jesuit or someone like him could do through the implementation of Catholic Social Teaching and the fulfillment of Vatican II. Strickland’s many open attacks on the Holy Father create obstacles for Pope Francis to implement life-giving reforms, expand Vatican II reforms, and conclude his role in the Chair of Peter. This is open information straight from Bishop Strickland for everyone to witness. Other private details of Bishop Strickland’s removal are unknown to me.
For many years, the Catholic Church has been needing to create safe space for historically marginalized groups, particularly LGBTQ+ people and their families. I didn’t understand how much various groups were marginalized until I spent a good deal of time with various ministries who support those the Church excludes by one reason or another. As I investigated further, I also spoke with the medical community and even some in the military. They all said essentially the same thing, that society is moving to a fully-integrated and inclusive position for all people, that this is a life and death issue with the current challenges we have in our world.
The Catholic community called Veritas, which Bishop Strickland tried to create, was a masterpiece of exclusion. You can read about it here. What happened to the ambitious Veritatis Splendor project in Texas? – Deacon Greg Kandra (thedeaconsbench.com)
Now that I have witnessed a number of attempted suicides and damage done to families while serving a portion of time in religious trauma recovery, I realize that Bishops like Bishop Strickland are preventing the creation of safe space for those who are incapable of living up to all of the Church’s teachings, particularly in the area of sexual ethics. With the obsession the Catholic Right can have in the area of sexual ethics, they would have to excommunicate 97% of the Catholic Church if they want to expel those who are not living up to Catholic Teaching in this area.
Not long ago, Pope Francis said that some Catholics are obsessed with contraception, abortion, and sexual ethics. I believe the obsession is tied into something much deeper, the traits of fascism, such as the subjugation of women.
I will let you judge for yourself if Bishop Strickland is participating in at least one or more ways with the rise of fascism. I’m not saying he is, but I am asking you to consider the possibility for yourself. These fascism traits are combined from Encyclopedia Brittanica and the Washington Monthly. Personally, I publicly see only a few from Bishop Strickland, but there may be more. Let’s only list what we can actually observe, not what we can speculate.
I only wish Bishop Strickland well and for him not to harm anyone, especially the Holy Father.
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1. sources and capitalizes on economic woes and anxieties
2. shifts political blame on to scapegoat groups like minority groups, the Democrats,
immigrants, and other groups while taking away blame from where it belongs, on the leadership
3. propagates extreme nationalism going hand-in-hand with racism and militarism
4. a melding of church and state when there should be a separation
5. subjugation of women and sexism
6. a disdain for human rights except those of the elite, especially a disdain for those who identify as LGBTQIA+
7. obsession with crime and punishment
8. identification of enemies as a unifying cause for political action
9. disdain for intellectualism, science, history, and the arts
10. control of different types of media, including books
11. rampant cronyism and government corruption
12. attempt to control elections, like through voter suppression
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