In 2018 Bishop Joseph Strickland, who led the diocese of Tyler, in Texas, stuck his head above the parapet at a gathering of the United States Bishops’ Conference, 46 days after the Washington Post broke the story of then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s now well-known depravity.
He asked: “How did that happen? If we really believe that what was going on was wrong, how did he get promoted? There seem to be questions about that, and I think we have to face that directly. Do we believe the doctrine of the Church or not?”
In 2019 Strickland stood up again, challenging Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego’s seamless-garment approach to life issues which set up an artificial battle between the conference and the Holy Father.
McElroy took issue with language stating that the threat of abortion remained a pre-eminent priority and described such language as being “discordant” if not “inconsistent” with Pope Francis’s teaching.
In response to McElroy’s emphasis on what Cardinal Víctor Manual Fernández, the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, has called “the present magisterium”, Strickland said: “I absolutely think pre-eminence needs to stay.”
In 2022, Pope Francis made Bishop McElroy a cardinal; in 2023 he dismissed Bishop Strickland from his diocese, for “administrative” reasons. Whatever the motives behind his removal, however, his attempted side-lining seems to have had the opposite effect. When we met, I asked Strickland how faithful Catholics could make sense of a pastoral approach that often appears incoherent.
“There is a lot of contradiction and confusion,” he said, “which is not of Christ. It’s not what the Church’s role is. Christ is the light of the world, and we need light to be able to see, for humanity to see the truth that is glorious and joyful and full of hope. But if we turn away from that light of Christ and gaze down and look just at the world, this explains at least some of what we are seeing. We are seeing the fruit of those who are looking horizontally and saying, ‘What are the answers?’ and ‘What did you discover?’ instead of looking up to the heavens, to the revealed truth that guides us in the light beyond lights that is Jesus Christ,” he continued.
As Strickland spoke, I was struck by the powerful simplicity of his message and began to understand why, when I visited Chicago last year, his name was mentioned by every Catholic I met. “The shepherd speaks, and the sheep know his voice,” I was told. But it is a voice that seems unwelcome in the Church in the present age of synodality.
“We are all supposed to carry our cross and follow Christ,” Bishop Strickland told me. “There has been an element of that in what’s happened with me, but I also have to say that God is using this situation that I find myself in now in extraordinary ways.” He went on: “I am no longer a diocesan bishop, so I’m not responsible for administration and that has really freed me up to speak the basic truth. I’m a simple guy; I’m not sophisticated and I’m not a great theologian, but I believe deeply and because I’ve been anointed as a successor of the apostles, I take that responsibility very seriously. That was why I asked back in 2018 if we believed what we teach or not.”
Strickland may never wear a red hat, but his impact may be greater than a cardinal’s. As Joseph Ratzinger told his listeners in one of his radio addresses in 1969, the most successful way to discover the embryo of the future in any particular epoch is to examine personalities and the signs of the times that they represent.
After picking out several personalities in the Church who embodied the progressivism of the Enlightenment, the future Benedict XVI concluded with the opposite example of Clement Hofbauer CSsR. “We come to the other man… the Bohemian baker’s apprentice who became a saint. He was a man who loved… thus men were able to rediscover God through him, just as he had discovered men through God and knew what they required. In the end the faith of this poor baker’s apprentice proved to be more reasonable than the academic rationality of the rationalists.”
He continued: “So the thing that outlived the ruins of the declining 18th century was a Church that had become fruitful. The future of the Church can, and will, issue from those whose roots are deep and who live from the pure fullness of their faith… it will not issue from those who sidestep the passion of faith, declaring false and obsolete, tyrannous and legalistic all that makes demands upon men, that hurts them and compels them to sacrifice themselves.”
He emphasised: “The future of the Church will be reshaped by men whose minds probe deeper than the slogans of the day, who see more than others see, because their lives embrace a wider reality.”
Men, I would argue, like Bishop Joseph Strickland. I finish our conversation by asking him for a final word to those who feel alone and isolated, who say that they struggle as if they were sheep without a shepherd. His answer, this Eastertide, reveals the embryo of the future Church of which Cardinal Ratzinger spoke. A Church that will “find her essence afresh with full conviction of that which was always at her centre: faith in the triune God” experiencing again “the sacraments as the worship of God and not as subject for liturgical scholarship”.
“Turn to the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ,” Strickland responded. “Turn to His word in the Bible, read a gospel passage and say ‘Lord, help me to know that you are still with us,’ the one who performed this miracle, gave this teaching or scolded the Pharisees, whatever the passage says, that same Jesus is with us. Read scripture in the presence of Our Lord in Eucharistic adoration; say to Him, ‘Lord, I know you are here but help my weakness of faith.’ For those who feel they are without a shepherd – you are not. Look to the Good Shepherd and pray for your shepherd, whether priest or bishop, that those who should be shepherding you will likewise look to the Good Shepherd and be strengthened in their call to proclaim Jesus Christ and to guard the deposit of faith.”
From the Catholic Herald
If a company’s executives disagreed among themselves about how to run the company and what the company’s priorities should be as much as the Catholic Church’s bishops disagree among themselves, that company would go out of business. You connect the dots…………….
The head of the Church is Jesus Christ.
His Vicar is the Pope.
The Bishops are the head of their diocese and there are some decisions that they make.
Disagreements mean nothing in the Catholic Church.
Disobedience is not tolerated.
This article while published in April is after an interview in December 2024.
A lot has happened since then.
In general, what I am finding is a strong belief among some lay people that the Catholic Church is bad especially in teaching the Faith and they are the warriors who are going to save the Faith.
Of course, don’t forget to donate.
It’s a hydra.
Another good book to write for someone.
2023
Our Church is certainly not an earthly company, creaated by human beings, as an enterprise based on money, self-gain and ego, serving selfishness, greed and profits. Our Church is holy, and was created by Jesus Christ for the Salvation of mankind. It belongs solely to God. We must serve only Him in loving obedience— even to die for Him if we must. Clerics — including some members of the USCCB– who do not humbly serve Our Lord, and who serve only phony, false, earthly self-interests, pride, self-glory and egotism, are of Satan, not Christ. I think Bishop Strickland is a cleric who honestly loves and serves Christ, and bravely sacrificed all for Him. Loved his honest and courageous interactions at USCCB meetings! There is very little love, humility, courage, honesty, integrity, humility and respect for Our Lord, among some of our top clerics and Church leaders! How many would honestly and courageously give their all, dying to self, for love and service to Christ– Who died on a humiliating, lonely, rugged Cross– though He was certainly not a Death Row convicted criminal– for our sins? I think Bp. Strickland honestly loves Our Lord, and does not fear humiliations, sufferings, loneliness, and being outcast–instead, he views it like saintly Jimmy Lai and Cardinal Zen— it is a great privilege, to suffer and to be outcast, even to die— for standing honestly, strongly and courageously by Our Lord! Love the “Catholic Herald,” too– an excellent UK Catholic publication! All earthly garbage, falsely based on man’s ugly, disfigured, disordered egotism, selfishness, pride, self-seeking, self-gain and self-glory, soon crumbles into dust, and is blown away, gone with the wind, meaningless and forgotten.
None of these men are saints. Maybe after they die?
Seek the Lord where He may be found.
To be a saint is not expected of a priest, a bishop or a pope. Only faithfulness to Christ. As everyone knows– not all Catholic priests and bishops are faithful to Christ. If one of them, let’s say, invites you to a “gay Mass,” or encourages you to enroll your kids at a bad Catholic school– like Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, CA, or bad Jesuit Santa Clara University– you tell them “No,” and send your kids to a good, faithful Catholic school, with good Catholic priests and bishops there.
We should all strive for holiness, which will lead us to be saints (maybe not canonized.)
I disagree with the fad of rushing to declare someone who checks their Catholic identity box a “saint”. It’s a weaponizaton of the idea of sainthood to support a political movement in the church. Earlier centuries did not do this. But in our time, everyone wants to be part of history or to make history or think that history is on his side or that God is on his side.
A Saint has nothing to do with “checking their Catholic identity box.” A Saint is truly holy– not worldly, not of this world, but of Christ, in the Kingdom of Heaven. A saint is very rare, on earth. A saint lives only for Christ, nothing else– and daily gives his or her all for Christ— faithful only to Him, even to death. A Saint has completely died ti self, and honestly proclaims, with St. Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…” (Galatians 2:20-21)
Those men do not fit that description at all.
But that is the crux of the matter.
Self vs God.
But just because they are not saints does not mean that they are bad.
None of us are saints.
Who are you saying is a so-called “saint?” Among the clergy, there are always good ones, faithful to Christ, and bad ones, even criminals, like the child sex abusers. Etc. A few clerics are outstanding– but not necessarily saints. A saint is extremely rare on earth.
Strickland vs. McElroy, the simplicity of the Gospel vs. the duplicity of the world.
It does not matter who the instrument of God is.
If the Pope asked McElroy to resign, he would.
But the current pope would never ask a pro-gay, pro-green cardinal to resign. McElroy might be the next pope.
It is possible but unlikely.
No, it really does matter to this Pope. He only wants bishops who follow his liberal beliefs, If Cdl. McElroy suddenly changed to be exactly like Bp. Strickland– he might get asked to resign. And if the Pope asks a bishop to resign– he has to do it– or else, get kicked out.
He does not have liberal beliefs.
His job is discerning God’s Will.
If you do not accept something the Pope has said it may be because you are not advanced enough in spirituality.
A faithful Catholic will be “liberal” on some things. “conservative” on others.
Be a faithful Catholic.
Learn the Bible, learn the Catechism.
Let’s see: McElroy wants women deacons and, by implication, women priests since there is only one sacrament of Holy Orders. He wants the church to go easy on gay relationships. He doesn’t think Communion should be denied to pro-abortion politicians. He thinks care for the earth is more important than sexual morality. He certainly does have liberal beliefs, and I’d say they are dissident beliefs. Shame for a cardinal to not have Catholic faith and not adhere to Catholic teaching.
His job is not “discerning God’s will”. His job is to teach, sanctify, and govern God’s people in accord with Revelation from God. He’s not doing what he’s supposed to be doing.
Better to accept and face the truth. The world knows the truth about this pope– he is liberal. So is Cardinal McElroy, “Tucho,” and many others. The pope is always a Cardinal, elected among the College of Cardinals, to serve as pope. One of them will then agree to do the job. Some have been historically chosen, but decline the job. So they get someone else, and we see the famed White Smoke rising from the chimney at the Vatican. “Habemus papam.”
Not all Catholic popes and clerics, “do God’s Will,” all the time. The Apostle Judas Iscariat did not do God’s Will. “Fiducia Supplicans” is one bad thing that is not Catholic teaching, not God’s Will, in all truth. Face the truth. Do not worship a pope as a “false Christ.” The pope is a sinner, too, like all human beings. If Cdl. McElroy were elected as next pope, and he accepted it– same thing. He has been a strong LGBT supporter since the day he was even ordained a priest. As a priest, he was liberal– and did some terrible things, against Catholic teaching. His path of destruction continued, when called to be consecrated as a bishop. Then he got his own diocese. He should never have entered a seminary in the first place. Same thing, with Cdl. “Tucho” Fernandez. Do not worship “Tucho” as a “false Christ,” if he gets elected as next pope. There are many bad clerics, as well as good and holy clerics, at the Vatican. Good and holy clerics humbly sacrifice all for God, listen to Him and accept His Will, and serve only Him— no matter what, even if evil men seek to harm him. He serves only God. Not Nan. All mankind has the Gift of Free Will, given by God. It is each cleric’s choice, as with all men– to follow Christ— or Satan.
Name someone who refused the papacy.
Read history, educate yourself.
Some cardinals have been reluctant, or have declined the job, it is a hard job, to be a pope. Read all about the Catholic papacy.
No one that we know of has ever refused the papacy.
A Cardinal cannot actually become Pope, unless he actually gives his acceptance, after ballots are cast, in a conclave. He has the right to refuse. During the 2005 conclave, Pope Francis did not want to be “used` as a candidate to cast votes for, to try to prevent Cardinal Ratzinger from winning. Actually, Cardinal Bergoglio (Pope Francis) told them to not cast votes for him, he would not accept. And Cardinal Ratzinger was reluctant to accept being elected as Pope, too, but then accepted it. In the papal conclave of 1978, Cardinal Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) was a strong candidate, but friends were afraid he would not accept. You can look up a list of cardinals who decided not to accept being elected as Pope, and those who accepted reluctantly, in a book about the Papacy.
What book?
Judas was not a pope or a cleric.
How can you say he did not do God’s Will? Do you mean when he stole from the coffers? I agree he did not do God’s Will then because God said “Thou Shalt Not Steal’.
Judas was an Apostle, one of the Twelve– a very high calling– which he failed. The bishops/cardinals are successors of the Twelve Apostles. And sone have fallen from grace. That is all. Simple.
Catholics do not worship the Pope.
We do not see him as a false Christ, nor as an antichrist.
He is a man; he is a sinner.
Your beliefs sound more like Church of Christ or Pentecostal.
Pentecostal— many superstitious Catholics see the pope in a scary way, as a great big God-like figure they must bow to and obey, at all costs, even if he says or does something wrong. Mindless bowing and scraping, out of great fear.
Nobody sees the Pope like that. That is what the Pentecostals think Catholics think.
Read, and find out. Or ask friends and family. You will see the truth. Yes, many people are afraid of bishops, cardinals and popes. Some even fear Catholic
priests.
Please give sources for your statement that Cardinal McElroy did some terrible things as a priest.
If you did not follow priests and bishops from San Francisco, in all their doings, and in their Church clerical promotions, all through the decades—– read, read, read. You will be very shocked.
I found nothing but high praise for Cardinal McElroy as a priest in San Mateo.
I found two things that some of the commenters here would criticize-the incident with Richard Sipe and his opposition to barring pro-choice politicians from receiving the Eucharist.
I found nothing accusing McElroy of abuse. One person claims a cover up and there is some guilt by association from SF.
That is why you could not provide sources. Even places like LSN don’t back up your allegations.
McElroy has been very liberal, and has strongly promoted the gays and LGBT agenda, and has shocked many with his beliefs and his doings, all through his long career in the Church. I and many other Catholics, would have never wanted him to serve as a priest, assigned to our parish church. I think everyone knows his doings, and his beliefs, now, as the Cardinal Bishop of San Diego. The incident of refusal to see psychotherapist Richard Sipe, is a horrible thing, as Sipe had important information regarding the clerical sex abuse monster, Theodore McCarrick– plus more. McElroy is untrustworthy and dishonest. A cleric like that is especially not good for Catholic kids and families, or college kids, at Catholic colleges.
Those are your opinions.
I think he mishandled the allegation of Richard Sipe. I think he may be misleading some of the LGBTQ people (but maybe not-I have no way of knowing.)
I oppose the idea that those in mortal sin could receive communion.
I honestly don’t like a few other things.
None of those things are sins. They may be bad decisions but slander is such a bad sin that slanderers are on the list of those brethren not to associate with.
You not liking him or me not liking some things he has said really doesn’t mean anything. It is a detriment to us if we let it lead us into sin.
Adults in society and in the Church, are objective and mature. They are not selfish and self-oriented. They are oriented to serving God, their family and society, and protecting it against all evils and dangers. Only juvenile kids, not yet grown up think of “me and myself,” and ” my babyish freedom to do as I want,” and following babyish, “cutesy,” dumb, entertaining, liberal priests and prelates, and political leaders. Yes, Cdl. McElroy has committed sins– lots of them!— and may have broken the law, refusing to deal with reports of serious clerical sex abuse crimes, or obstructing investigations of them. Evil.
Many of the disagreements among Catholics are centered around the dignity and sacredness of the human person.
“The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching.”
https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/life-and-dignity-of-the-human-person#:~:text=The%20Catholic%20Church%20proclaims%20that,attack%20from%20abortion%20and%20euthanasia.
Another area where people (not many) disagree is about our responsibility in the care of God’s Creation.
Try to learn more of the teachings of the Church.
Follow the Good Shepherd. Follow His Vicar.
I hope I live long enough to see a strong, vibrantly faithful and orthodox Fourth Plenary Council of Baltimore with Strickland as Archbishop of Baltimore (de facto Primate of the U.S.A.) where all this squishy, emotional, effete, compromise-with-the-world nonsense is quashed, pseudo-Catholics like McElroy, Stowe, and Newark’s Tobin are given their walking papers, and we all get back to teaching, upholding, and spreading the CATHOLIC FAITH! Evangelizing the nation, not being evangelized BY IT.
I hope someone is writing a book about it.
Found it
Can anyone tell us why Bishop Strickland was canned?
Not guesses, even educated ones, but the real reason.
Why won’t the Vatican say?
Another example of Vatican secrecy.
As the Good Shepherd said, “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.”
He refused to resign.
The Vatican never says.
It was reported that they asked Knoxville bishop to resign and he did- for health reasons.
On Strickland, they should have done it sooner.
Watching that cult develop was like watching Jim Jones. Very scary.
“Watching that cult develop was like watching Jim Jones. Very scary.” Jim Jones was a consummate charlatan, deceptive manipulator and ultimately a mass murderer. We would be hard pressed to find a more evil man in contemporary U.S. history. He was a true emissary of Satan. So when a good and decent man like Bishop Strickland is mentioned in the same sentence as Jones, I have to think this is a very great deception. I do not doubt that Strickland was sacked because he did not fall in line with Pope Francis’ synodal path but instead numbered himself among the despised traditionalists whom Francis always could be counted on to disparage. If Bishop Strickland has a following, it was because he stands out as a brave Christian leader among many other clerics of a decidedly inferior stamp.
The comparison is not in the behavior of the leaders but in the behavior of the followers.
“… behavior of the followers.” Oh, I see. Jim Jones’ followers were hoodwinked left and right about his messianic status, so much so that they acted like lemmings in pursuit of their own deaths. To the evil of Jones was a commensurate evil of his followers in following Jones to their deaths. The twin evils cannot be separated because the one caused the other. So now let us examine why cult (cult May 3, 2024 at 7:08 am) finds Strickland’s followers so scary. The reason? A cult following seems to be developing around the man for his steadfast defense of the Catholic faith amidst the apparent indifference of scores of clerics who by almost every metric seemed mired in moral confusion. These followers scare sir/madame cult. Are they in danger of harming themselves by suicide? If not, are they in danger of harming others in service of Strickland? I see no such evidence of this. Then why does appreciation of a very good man like Strickland scare our friend cult? Does this not tell us more about him/her than about the followers? I suspect so.
Jim Jones did not start as a paranoid cult leader. He was a Christian preacher and an anti-segregationist. He preached equality.
Cult does not have to mean that their is something sinister in the leader.
The behavior of his followers and lay leaders was inappropriate. Selling merch, calling him “America’s Bishop”, having him attend events in Rome and in Los Angeles to further some of their agendas.
He is a Catholic Bishop and he was not behaving the way a Catholic bishop should and his followers were not behaving the way Catholics should behave. Perhaps this is how you prefer a bishop to behave but it is not how the Church operates.
The pitting of him against a created caricature of the leaders of the Catholic Church is a tell-tale sign that something is off. If the bishops are not jumping up and down in angst about the issues that are upsetting you, it is because they are not supposed to. It is not how the Catholic Church works.
He told them never to leave the Catholic Church, to his credit. He told them he is not “America’s bishop”, to his credit.
Jim Jones was evil. And the evil began in the People’s Temple long before Guyana, where through dissimulation and prevarication he exalted himself to messianic standing. As for Bishop Strickland, his foray into battle at Dodger Stadium put to shame the L.A. Chancery, showing them how to stand up to the godless revilers of Catholicism. And you suppose those at Dodger stadium with Bishop Strickland were not behaving as Catholics should? Not how the Church operates? Under weak, vapid leadership you might have a point. Created caricature? How many billions of dollars in lawsuits does it take for you to admit moral turpitude and half-measured responses plagued the hierarchy? Is that how the Catholic Church is supposed to work? That’s how a church that has lost its way works, IMHO.
You do not have to trust anyone but God.
You should not blindly trust anyone.
If something sounds wrong to you, you should verify it.
You may be wrong; you may be right.
If you want wrong behavior or think good is evil and evil is good (or even neutral is good or odd is good) you are going to get betrayed again.
Strickland’s latest X post is:
I endorse the statement that Phil Lawler hoped for,
“The Church’s teaching has not changed, will not change, cannot change on fundamental questions such as the inviolability of the marriage bond and sanctity of the Eucharist.”
Every bishop in the world will agree with this.
Also on Bishop Strickland’s X
Yes human sinfulness mars her beauty but she is still the only….One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church that Jesus Christ established. Please don’t leave her, instead stay and fight to preserve the truth that Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself to share.
Again, every bishop in the world would say the same thing
The next post is a link to a priest who has had his faculties removed.
It is this mixture of good with bad that is a huge red flag.
This is something that faithful bishops would not do.
Here is an example of my vulnerability. I had two outwardly-appearing “great Catholics” steal money from me. I did the “forgive but don’t forget” thing. It was years ago.
Recently, one of them contacted me about why I had behaved badly towards them even more years ago. I explained that this other person did it and that I was very sorry they were hurt by it. So then they come back with “oh, they didn’t really care about it, It was not really a problem for them.”
My spouse said “They still know how to pull your strings.”
Later, I realized it was supposed to make me feel guilty and, instead, I felt compassion and I blew up their whole game.
I knew some people who were falling for an Internet scam and tried to warn them. Others warned them also.
These people eventually gave the scammers $23,500 dollars (they got a discount from $25,000 for paying in cash.)
Right after they gave them the money, I told them that there were a lot of people who had been scammed by these people. You could find them on the Internet. They told me that they had done their “due diligence” above and beyond because when the scammers gave them three names of people that they could call who would vouch for them, they made the scammers give them six names.
The person to this day cannot admit they were taken in.
When they didn’t get the payoff they were looking for, they fell for two more scams.
Here is where they were vulnerable. Each of these scams were money making scams that told them they could make $100,000 a year working 8 hours a week.
Daniel Gallup, read the introduction to the prayer book “Teach Us To Pray”
There is a link on the Jubilee website.
it is at no cost.
I have the book, but thanks for the recommendation. May I ask what prompted you to seek me out in this regard?
You seem to have some trust issues. A reminder that prayer and praying with the Church is of so much value.
it is easy to get distracted.
“You seem to have some trust issues…” Dear sir/madame, with this pontificate, many clerics have trust issues, including most of the African hierarchy. To tell them that they are distracted and should resolve their trust issues with prayer is to belittle their legitimate concerns about this pope’s words and actions with advice that is largely beside the point. These clerics know how to pray, and it may well be that it is their prayer that has led them to oppose Francis. And yet these clerics love the Church and doubtless love Francis, and oppose him out of love for both. As for me, I believe Pope Francis has made significant mistakes during his reign and this conviction is not altered by prayer but becomes a motive to pray all the more for him. I would pray far less for him if I hung on every word issuing forth from his office.
They did not oppose him.
Check facts, please.
Also, Joe Hershmeyer has a book called Pope Peter. I have not read it yet but it is intriguing.
You can read the description on Amazon.
Daniel, the African bishops were careful not to oppose Francis.
I do not know what to tell you to clarify yourself on because I cannot tell the source of your errors.
Use legitimate first sources.
Do not add things to them to try to make people look bad.
Use quotes not interpretations.
Be more accurate and truthful.
There were issues in the Diocese of Tyler. But, your unhinged remarks are over the top.
OK, he was canned because he refused to resign. The real question is why was he asked to resign?
(And, no need for more speculation.) The Church has dismissed men without telling them why.
Why the secrecy?
All will find out eventually, even if at the return of the Lord.
And, God will judge cult leaders and others, whether Bishop Strickland, James Martin, German bishops, you and me.
Have you borne false witness against a bishop by calling him a cult leader?
(Yet, was he canned for simply being critical of the Pope’s actions?)
I did not call him a cult leader at all, so no, I will not be judged for that.
See the comment by “I hope” above
I don’t think he intended people to get like that or the “America’s bishop” silliness but he should have done more to stop it.
You are taking terms of endearment far too seriously. You fail to have a heart for our Catholic prelates who work so hard, and endure very tough and perilous conditions, sometimes (like beloved Pope St. John Paul II, in Communist Poland) — standing strong, for Christ. Today, we have beloved, true Catholic heroes in Jimmy Lai and Cardinal Zen in China. They, too, deserve our utmost respect, daily prayers, and terms of endearment. Have you ever heard real, good people express their deep respect, appreciation, affection, and support, for a beloved, favorite teacher, college professor, coach, baseball player, football player, music teacher, opera singer, ballerina, priest, nun, bishop, or pope, or a beloved political leader — affectionately calling them, “Our favorite—“? Or, “America’s favorite—?” Etc. Rev. Dr. Billy Graham was affectionately dubbed, “America’s Pastor,” and “Pastor to the Presidents,” for very good and special reasons. I admired Luciano Pavarotti, Beverly Sills (nicknamed “Bubbles”), Russian ballerina, Natalia Makarova, and many more opera stars and ballerinas– many of whom had very special titles given to them, by fans worldwide, and people proud of them, in their home countries! I was always so proud to note that I was blessed to be born on “Bubbles’ ” birthday. She was a Jewish woman of deep faith, and I so greatly admired her deep love and devotion to her beloved husband and two tragically disabled, dear children. She retired from opera at age 51, to devote her time fully to them. She tragically died of cancer at age 78. And I adored Ven. Abp. Fulton J. Sheen, lifelong– “America’s Bishop.” There is also a big, best-selling biography of Abp. Sheen, written by author Thomas C. Reeves, called “America’s Bishop.” We all deeply appreciated him, and are so deeply grateful for all that he gave us! He may be designated as a saint by the Vatican, someday. A currently very famous, very popular Jewish Rabbi, Shmuley Boteach, has been dubbed, “America’s Rabbi.” He is a very popular author, speaker, and TV, YouTube, and radio star, and he has a very popular Jewish TV show, “Shalom in the Home.” Many of us, all across America, who have deep respect and appreciation for the extremely rare and faithful Catholic Bishop, Bishop emeritus Joseph Strickland, call him, affectionately, “America’s Bishop.” Many hundreds of faithful Catholic families moved to his former Diocese of Tyler, Texas, desperate for a good, faithful Catholic Bishop– especially for their children.
Cults of personality are forbidden in the Catholic Church.
No. This is not a cult. It is simply appreciation and respect for those who are outstanding in their field, and have given us a lot. So– tell us, whom do you admire, who is outstanding. Anyone? Opera and Ballet students often affectionately give their Opera or Ballet teacher a bouquet of beautiful flowers, after a big performance. Star performers also often receive beautiful floral bouquets. Parishioners often give their priests special Chrustmas gifts, to show their appreciation. Even the Queen or King of England, gives special medals of honor and recognition, for those who have outstanding achievements. The Pope does the same thing. And the milltary, too. Outstanding coaches and sports players are often given affectionate names, and receive special honors and trophies. So– whom do you admire, that is real special?
Well, they called Elvis Presley the “King of Rock n’ Roll” music, they had many ladies who were called the “Queen of Country Music” (Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, etc.), they called Frank Sinatra “Ol’ Blue Eyes” and “Chairman of the Board,” John Wayne was known as “The Duke,” Clark Gable was called “King of the Movies,” Pres. Ronald Reagan was dubbed “The Gipper” for his famous role in the 1940 movie, “Knute Rockne, All American,” and Reagan was also called, “The Great Communicator,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was dubbed “The Governator,” Pope St. John Paul II was dubbed, “John Paul the Great” by loving admirers, and the list of affectionate names of famous people goes on and on!
I laughed, when seeing that “The Donald,” Donald Trump, has been dubbed “President Snowflake” and “Snowflake-in-Chief,” in the press, due to his reactions to criticism. And Trump calls Pres. Biden, “Sleepy Joe.” My grandfather looked a lot like Clark Gable, and my grandmother told me how she fell in love with him, love at first sight, the day they met at the local Post Office, back in the horse-and-buggy days. He was a baseball player in the Minor Leagues, before marriage, leaving baseball for a more serious career. He was much-loved by all who knew him, and viewed as a laid-back “sweetheart,” kind to everyone. My dad and my mom both totally adored him. And my dad looked just like him! Well, do you like to call Pope St. John Paul II, “John Paul the Great,” affectionately? Grateful and appreciative for all he gave us? Who are your favorites, or favorites who gave you something real special, or deeply meaningful, in your life?
None of this applies.
Closest thing is Trump. You could make a case for the followers of Trump being a cult of personality.
Usually celebrities are creeped out by people who cross the line.
My grandfather— the handsome, Minor League baseball player– met my grandmother one beautiful Spring day, in 1916, at the Post Office– just by chance. They were both age 24. She was a school teacher. They fell madly in love and got married. It was during WWI, and four years before Congress passed the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. This Amendment was first introduced in 1878, but was not passed until 42 years later. I think it is fascinating to learn all about history, and all about our ancestors, who lived it. Our grandparents and many others, had some wonderful life stories to tell. Maybe some of your family members had endearing nicknames, and some fine qualities that you admired, maybe some were even heroic, in their lives.
Bishop Strickland was informed why so he would be the one to ask.
Maybe directly challenging the pope’s authority and orthodoxy on social media had something to do with it?
Yes, Bp. Strickland was outspoken about corruption and evils in the Church. In the era of St. Francis of Assisi, the Catholic Church also suffered from massive corruption. St. Francis considered his bishop to be very worldly and not truly spiritually dedicated. And St. Francis considered the Catholic priesthood of his era, as not good enough to consider joining it. He just followed Christ and His True Faith, by himself, and others came to join him. That has happened with many who became saints, in eras in which the Church was corrupt. Follow Christ, and His True Catholic Faith, and go it mostly alone, with little support, if you must– if many in the clergy are corrupt. In the end– it is really just you and God Alone, and you must go by Faith, even if the way seems dark. Go with Christ, on Faith! It is all true! Ignore the bad Catholics.
St. Francis went to the Pope for permission and he would not have disobeyed the Pope.
Today’s Catholics seem very self-willed.
Observe carefully, and you will see for yourself, that Bp. Strickland is totally surrendered to Christ. He is not out for himself. Bishops like that provide good Christian Role Models for us. We must follow Christ, and listen to good Catholic prelates only, who stand for Christ Alone, no matter what.
If that was true, he would still be the Bishop of Tyler.
No, he would not still be the Bishop of Tyler. Bp. Strickland stated his position clearly. He said that if the Pope asked him to resign, he would. And he did. He believed it to be the right thing to do. A man of God, a man of integrity, is not self-willed, babyish, selfish, nor “me”- oriented. He seeks to do what is right, and follow Christ.
He said that if the Pope asked him to resign, he would not. And he did not. So he was relieved of his responsibilities as Bishop of Tyler.
“…still be Bishop of Tyler.” That is a matter ripe for question and debate. One could argue, for instance, that his total surrender to Christ is what led him to challenge Pope Francis on social media.
Nope.
Reply to and Dan, back in the Clinton days it was called “spin.”
If true— here is exactly what Bishop Strickland said. He said that he felt that it was not right to voluntarily leave his flock, as he has a responsibility to them, and is obliged, by the Lord, to fulfill his responsibilities, as a Bishop. However he said that it would be the right thing to do, to resign—- ONLY if he was actually asked by the Pope and his U.S. nuncio, to do so. Now, that is the plain truth. Regardless of whether or not you “like” or “agree” with Bishop Strickland. He is not a secular political leader, he is not worldly, he is an ordained Catholic Bishop, who seeks to be faithful to Chrst. He has nothing to vwith worldly “”baby stuff,” like the term, “spin.”
What is your source?
When the Vatican conducts Apostolic Visitations, they are always done in secret. The Apostolic Visitors typically do not give their reasons for their visits. Apostolic Visitations are conducted on behalf of the pope, and those who conduct it, are representatives of the Catholic Church’s pope, and his supreme papal authority. No one will ever know, or be told, the exact reasons, for Vatican Apostolic Visitstions, and the decisions made, as a result— for example, in the case of Bishop Strickland, just as Strickland said– he will never know. He was sent no official letter, nor told anything personally, as to the exact reasons for the Apostolic Visitation he received, and the exact reasons for the final decision, made by the pope. You can only make a guess.
I do not think this is the honest work of the Holy Spirit– do not kid yourself. God does not do such things. God is honest. The pope is a human being, a Catholic cardinal who is elected by the College of Cardinals. Sadly, he may or may not be a dedicated, devout, true-blue, faithful Catholic. They all vary in their beliefs– look at San Diego’s Cdl. McElroy– what if he got elected as pope? I have never thought that Cdl. McElroy, and many others, especially many wayward German prelates— necessarily seek the guidance of God or the Holy Spirit– and follow it faithfully, true to Christ, the Founder of our holy Church, which rightfully belongs solely to Him. Historically, a pope was elected to be the leader, for the Church, in the style of a monarch. But the Catholic religion, of Jesus Christ, is really the True Church– not ideas of wayward prelates and popes. For example– a bad pope who has mistresses, cannot change the Catholic Church’s teachings on the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, nor declare that promiscuity, adultery, and having mistresses is not a sin. That would be a big lie. A bad pope cannot mess with the Holy Bible, and change it to suit himself. The religion is already set, for centuries, as Christ’s Truth. And hundreds of scholars, theologians, the College of Cardinals, and hundreds of bishops, worldwide– plus, top political leaders of countries, who are obedient Catholics– would jump down a bad pope’s throat, exposing hus lies and deceptions and evils to the whole world. He really can’t get away with too much. A pope can be deposed too, in a nasty way– and be run out of the Vatican — by a great big mob of angry top clerics, the College of Cardinals who elected him, prominent Catholic laymen, prominent theologians, and Catholic world leaders— if he is full of lies and deceptions regarding the Catholic Faith, trying to do what King Henry VIII of England did– make his own church, his own style. King Henry VIII got the backing of his top clerics and political allies– and concocted his own English state church, and broke with the Pope in 1534. But it wasn’t totally stabilized, until the Restoration of the Monarchy in May 1660, when the Church of England was firmly established for good. A pope is still a human being with Free Will, and he may or may not be holy, dedicated to Christ, daily spending time deep in in prayer, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and obediently acting on the guidance received. Howcome evil, filthy, radical LGBT-promoting priests, nuns and prelates have not been investigated by the Vatican, and kicked out by the pope? Filthy LGBT supporters who want to change the Catechism, filthy, radical pro-gay Jesuits, Fr. James Martin, Fr. Thomas Reese, and many other bad Jesuits; pro LGBT activist, Sr. Jeannie Grammick, ex-Jesuit, clerical rapist of nuns, Fr. Marko Rupnik, evil “Nuns on the Bus,” led by Sr. Simone Campbell, who support abortion, etc. etc. Why do none of these heretical nuns, priests and prelates ever get investigated– and kicked out– by the pope? What would Jesus honestly say about that? I bet He would strongly mandate something like, “Confess your sins, and repent”– for starters.
Bishop Strickland was told exactly why he was being asked to resign and then relieved of the duties of Bishop of Tyler. From EWTN interview- “He (Apostolic nuncio] read several pages of issues, of concerns…a lack of fraternity with my brother bishops, did not implement TC, My Internet media,.. social media presence…I had already been told to cool it on that. I wasn’t supportive of the Synod”
“I’m not going to fight it…It is the Holy Father’s decision.”
Bp. Strickland said that he received no letters at all, with reasons nor final conclusions, of the Apostolic Visititations, he received nothing at all, ever. Zero. Bp. Strickland had to simply try to figure out what was going on, and try to “connect the dots,” by himself– and come up with his own conclusions. It was all done in secret. That is the way Apostolic Visitations are done. Nothing we can do about that.
Watch the EWTN interview with Raymond Arroyo.
I saw the interview twice, the day it came out. Very sad, but it was a good interview. Strickland made it very clear– he had to draw his own conclusions, by himself,due to the Vatican tradition of secrecy about Apostolic Visitations. Have you ever seen something like that, in the secular world? In secular society, you can sue an employer, if he fails to follow stated company beliefs, policies, codes of ethics, etc.– and you make complaints– and then, get mysteriously investigated and fired by him, with no definite reasons given. But you cannot really do that, with a Pope.
Watch it again on youtube.
As for Apostolic Visitations-there is nothing sinister about them. Seminaries, nun’s groups, other diocese all have had them. They are meant to help the Church and Her members. They are not a vindictive retaliation for failing to follow company policy. This is the Catholic Church.
Sorry, I just read it again.
You are talking about the Apostolic Visitation, not the dismissal.
No clear, definite reason was given– on paper, with clear, definite reasons– for Bp. Strickland’s unacceptability and dismissal, as the Bishop of Tyler– crimes, sins, poor administration, bad job performance, etc. In the secular world, if employees see wrong and unethical things happening at work, and make complaints and criticisms to the Boss — they are protected by law, if the Boss fires them for it. Everything can be taken to a court of law, in America– and exposed, with evidence given, discussed, cross-examined, (etc.) — and final decisions made, for Justice. The Catholic Church does not really work like that, in most cases. And you can only risk being crushed, if you challenge a big prelate, or the pope. Too bad Marko Rupnik’s clerical rape survivors cannot get Justice done, with an American-style lawsuit. Whistleblower Richard Sipe was crushed by Cdl. McElroy– but he persisted, anyway. And McElroy and other clerics, really did not risk being fired, for illegal cover-ups and evasion of truth, regarding clerical sex abuse– or anything else. The Catholic Church has its own way of doing things.
There is a way for Bishop Strickland to appeal his dismissal. He chose not to do that.
He talks about that in the same interview with Raymond Arroyo.
Did you not watch it?
The Catholic Church does not do well (yet) with adult “victims” of sexual abuse, partly because they mostly co-operate with it. Nuns take vows of celibacy and they broke their vows along with Rupnik. The Church has a lot to learn about women and about the naivete of some of its members. This is one of the reasons why the Pope talks about the dangers of clericalism. And I am not blaming the victims. No one has accused Rupnik of rape but of sexual and spiritual abuse. He is not accused of forcible rape, but of being manipulative and spiritually abusing these nuns into doing things that most people would say no to, even without a vow of celibacy..
Yes, I have seen the EWTN interview of Raymond Arroyo and Bishop Strickland several times.
I already told you that. Bp. Strickland clarified that he would not seek an appeal regarding his dismissal. Fine. As for “Rupnik the Nun Rapist”– he psychologically groomed and raped the nuns’ minds, raped them spiritually– and then raped them physically. Rupnik is a Rapist of Nuns.. Don’t care for your ideas on that, but you are entitled to your own ideas. “Rupnik the Nun Rapist” should be laicized and punished. Throw him in jail and throw away the key. The Vatican protects its own clergy. Secular men in secular fields might care more, and would have had to “clean house” long ago– or the law would have jailed them all and forced them to shut down.
Why do you make your own laws (and punishments) rather than follow God’s law?
Bishop Strickland put a link to a video interview with an old bishop. (not him, not about him)
In the comments was this:
“At 36 minutes he says “put faith in Christ alone!” Amen we Protestants have been saying that all along! It takes a radical apostasy in your church to figure this out in these last days!”
The whole first paragraph is incorrect. We all knew the seminaries and American women religious were visited and the results were published. Cleveland, Memphis had apostolic visitations. If you keep up with Catholic news, these things are not secretive at all.
https://novena.cardinalburke.com/novena/reflections-library
A little behind but there is a novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe that began in March.
Also, don’t forget the year of prayer in prep for the Jubilee Year that begins in December.
This is from the excellent, faithful Catholic prelate, Cardinal Burke, and his beautiful, holy Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, that he built in La Crosse, WI. Would love to make a pilgrimage to this holy Shrine. I, too, joined his nine month Novena– it began in March. You can also get the holy card, as well as download the beautiful Novena.
“Obedience unites us so closely to God that in a way transforms us into Him, so that we have no other will but His. If obedience is lacking, even prayer cannot be pleasing to God.” St. Thomas Aquinas (13th century, Doctor of the Church)
Taken from https://www.stignatiusmobile.org/wisdom-of-the-saints-about-obedience-part-2/
I have enjoyed hearing Bishop Strickland talk about his background, family life, and growing up years. His mother was from Australia, and was a devout Catholic. She met and fell in love with his father, a Southern Baptist, from East Texas, near Dallas. They got married, and his father converted to the Catholic Faith, and together, they were staunch Catholics. They even helped start a Catholic parish church, in East Texas, and raised six kids there. Bishop Strickland’s father had a regular job, but also owned a hundred acre farm, where his family lived, outside of town. Loved to hear stories all about growing up, there, on the hundred acre farm. Strickland had an older brother who thought of becoming a priest, and he went to the seminary for about a year, but then dropped out, and went into another field. Bishop Strickland is a Canon Lawyer, with his Canon Law degree from Catholic University of America, in Washington, D. C. He has written two good books, about our Catholic Faith. Terry Barber still has “The Bishop Strickland Hour,” on his Virgin Most Powerful Radio– a very good program. It is wonderful to hear all about our good Catholic clerics, their backgrounds, and stories about their lives. And their sermons and talks, all about the Catholic Faith, are just wonderful.
Bishop Strickland’s attempts to undermine Christ’s Holy Church by frightening the little ones needs to be addressed.
If you do not know what I am speaking of, just praise the Lord and keep on being holy.
I will be contacting Cardinal Burke about it. He is a true loyal son of the Church
Bishop Strickland is not “frightening the little ones.” He has the courage and integrity to know and to follow only Christ. You must have the sane courage and integrity to follow Christ, too. Learn Who is the True Christ from our Scriptures– and have the courage and integrity to follow only Him. Many Church leaders today are corrupt. You need the courage to face that. Cardinal Burke will laugh at you.
No he won’t.
He will be concerned for the flock.
I know a lot of Catholics are very confused because they do not know who to believe.
When someone tells you to follow the Catholic Faith and not the Catholic Church, these are schismatics and that is a mortal sin.
Cardinal Burke will laugh at you, for making foolish complaints about Bishop Strickland. The problem is with bad prelates who refuse to follow the Catechism. If a priest or prelate like Jesuit Fr. James Martin gives you copies of his “gay-themed” books, and invites you and your kids to his “gay-themed” Mass– and “blessings of gay couples” after Mass, refuse his books, and tell him “no,” on his Mass and blessings of gays. Stand up for Christ and His teachings. There are lots of corrupt clerics in the Catholic Church. Don’t be fooled. You can call them corrupt clerics, schismatics, sinners– whatever you want.
Not complaining about Bishop Strickland.
Making someone aware of an issue (grave issue) but with no complaint.
Cardinal Burke gets it. He is gentle and can handle it.
I will not buy a copy of Building a Bridge but If I was given a free copy I would read it.
And you should have read it, if you are talking about him in a public forum.
Was John the Baptist “gentle” and “pleasing to you,” in his rightful, fiery, truthful preaching, standing up and rebuking horrible sinners like King Herod, for the Lord? Was Jesus Christ “pleasing to you” when He was fiery, condemning the evil Pharisees, or picking up a whip, and driving the evil money- changers out of the Temple? A Catholic cleric must be a mature, Real Man, as a Man of God. Fiery preaching is right and necessary, at times. Ven. Abp. Fulton J. Sheen was at times, fiery– and always excellent! That’s what hardened, bad Catholics like Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Pres. Joe Biden probably need to hear– and be disciplined by– honest, truthful preaching by fiery, John the Baptist- type popes and prelates– who mean business! If I were Bp. Strickland, I would not have used Social Media. I personally do not believe in it. Instead, I might have written a letter to the Pope about my concerns. Probably, the same result would have happened– only sooner. But that’s me– and so what? You, too, will experience great hardships for being a follower of Christ, standing strongly for Him, no matter what. That’s how it goes, in this old world, so full of sin. Cardinal Burke has to be careful due to his high office, and close proximity to the Pope. Cdl. Burke tried to be politically sensitive and cautious, in his approach– no luck, though. The Pope was pretty nasty to Cdl. Burke, anyway, noting that Burke was ” his enemy,” (not sure of the exact translation to English). And throw away books by Jesuit Fr. James Martin. You will not likely ever have to debate anyone publicly on his books.
I am not sure if you are Catholic but if you are you know that Catholics do not interpret the Bible for themselves. (In actuality, you cannot help doing that if you read it but you should always defer to the Church’s interpretation.)
You have not named the Scripture verses you are using but I can kind of figure out which you mean.
I do not think that the Church uses those verses to justify bad behavior. One says “Zeal for God’s house consumes me.”
And I am not accusing Bishop Strickland of bad behavior.
Honestly, your comments here are what initiated my concern even before he was removed.
The devil wants people to leave the Church always but especially before a Jubilee.
There were some people in my parish who were promoting some private revelations that were not approved. I gathered up the info on it, consulted with the locutionist’s spiritual director and then informed my pastor.
My pastor advised me not to obey that spiritual director and said “People think that the devil would never tell you to pray. But often times the devil works by simple misdirection.”
“Growing up a protestant, I was accustomed to hearing how bad the Catholic Church was before the “reformation.” The accusations typically fell into one of two categories: doctrinal, and moral. Either the Church no longer taught the “true gospel” (doctrinal), or its leaders were so corrupt that protestants were supposedly justified in separating from them and starting anew (moral).”
This is from an article online about Pope Adrian VI. He had two of what are considered the Bad Popes directly before and after him.
44 years after him came Pope Pius V.
God knows how to run his Chruch.
Same error is happening now. No, you are not going to go off and start the real Catholic Church (the error of the sedevacantists) you are just going to become a Protestant sect.
Being a true Catholic believer has nothing to do with following a pope mindlessly. It hmeans simply to know and to follow the Catholic Faith. If Cardinal McElroy is elected as the next Pope– beware. Do not mindlessly follow him. Follow the true Catholic Faith. Some of the popes have been corrupt and deviant– and have not been faithful to Catholic teaching. A Protestant is not just someone who disagrees with the papacy. A Protestant believer rejects the Catholic Faith, and the Catholic Mass and Sacraments, and veneration of Saints– not just the papacy.
Even the bad popes did not err on faith or morals.
The Holy Spirit protects the Church by guaranteeing the Pope.
Not all Protestants reject the same things.
Most of them have 2 Sacraments.
Many have communion; some believe in consubstantiation.
They all accept the Bible.
Some venerate saints and have religious orders.
Whatever Protestants do or believe, does not matter. Anyway, each Catholic is responsible to God for his life, for all his earthly actions, and must face God someday, regarding that. You never know, when that Divinely-appointed hour comes!
Most Protestant believers have never heard the Catholic Faith.
A Protestant is not someone who just disagrees with the pope. The Cardinals of the “Dubia” were all fine Catholic cardinals, who questioned an errant pope that appeared to deviate from Catholic teaching. African Cardinals who rejected the recent “Fiducia Supplicans,” rejected this document because it contradicts true and correct Catholic teaching. These African Cardinals are true and faithful Catholics– not “Protestants.” Some popes in our history have been corrupt and have not necessarily upheld the Catholic Faith. A Protestant is a person who does not accept the Catholic Mass and Sacraments, and veneration of Saints. Protestant believers rely mainly on the Bible. A Catholic does not follow a pope mindlessly, like a baby with no religious training. A true Catholic follows the true Catholic Faith– regardless of what anyone else says or does. Cardinal McElroy is a cardinal, but he deviates from true Catholic teaching. We are called to follow only the True Faith, given by Christ.
The True Catholic Faith teaches that you must follow the Pope.
Please give a link to where Cardinal McElroy deviates from true Catholic teaching.
You cannot know the True Faith if you do not follow the Popes.
No. The True Catholic Faith teaches, first and foremost—– to obey and follow Jesus Christ, and uphold his teachings. All popes, and all Catholic prelates and priests, must follow Christ, obediently.
The Deposit of Faith includes the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
The True Catholic Faith can never be separated from the Catholic Church.
The best paragraph of this article is the last one. This he is good at but I am not sure that his fans every really obey him.
“Turn to the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ,” Strickland responded. “Turn to His word in the Bible, read a gospel passage and say ‘Lord, help me to know that you are still with us,’ the one who performed this miracle, gave this teaching or scolded the Pharisees, whatever the passage says, that same Jesus is with us. Read scripture in the presence of Our Lord in Eucharistic adoration; say to Him, ‘Lord, I know you are here but help my weakness of faith.’ For those who feel they are without a shepherd – you are not. Look to the Good Shepherd and pray for your shepherd, whether priest or bishop, that those who should be shepherding you will likewise look to the Good Shepherd and be strengthened in their call to proclaim Jesus Christ and to guard the deposit of faith.”
Guarding the deposit of faith is the mission which the Lord has entrusted to his Church and which she fulfils in every age. The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, which was opened 30 years ago by my predecessor Pope John XXIII, of happy memory, had as its intention and purpose to highlight the Church’s apostolic and pastoral mission, and by making the truth of the Gospel shine forth, to lead all people to seek and receive Christ’s love which surpasses all knowledge (cf. Eph 3:19).
The principal task entrusted to the Council by Pope John XXIII was to guard and present better the precious deposit of Christian doctrine in order to make it more accessible to the Christian faithful and to all people of good will. For this reason the Council was not first of all to condemn the errors of the time, but above all to strive calmly to show the strength and beauty of the doctrine of the faith. “Illumined by the light of this Council”, the Pope said, “the Church… will become greater in spiritual riches and, gaining the strength of new energies therefrom, she will look to the future without fear… Our duty is… to dedicate ourselves with an earnest will and without fear to that work which our era demands of us, thus pursuing the path which the Church has followed for 20 centuries.”
With the help of God, the Council Fathers in four years of work were able to produce a considerable collection of doctrinal statements and pastoral norms which were presented to the whole Church. There the Pastors and Christian faithful find directives for that “renewal of thought, action, practices and moral virtue, of joy and hope, which was the very purpose of the Council”.
https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_19921011_fidei-depositum.html
“Every day new sects spring up, and what St Paul says about human deception and the trickery that strives to entice people into error (cf. Eph 4: 14) comes true. Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled as fundamentalism.”
Cardinal Ratzinger 4-15-2005