Bishop Joseph Strickland penned a long post on X last week, dropping the hammer on Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, along with other bishops, and asking them how long they would serve two masters and “scandalize the little ones” by failing to address issues that infect the Catholic Church with liberalism and modernism.
Before anyone goes red in the face and starts accusing Strickland of disobeying the pope or causing schism, remember this: the pope doesn’t operate with constant infallibility. In fact, he only teaches infallibly when he sits on the Chair of St. Peter and rules on issues concerning faith and morals, something that has happened only a couple of times in the 2,000-year history of the Church.
Strickland has every right to critique Pope Leo and the other bishops for failing to fulfill their duties to protect Christ’s flock from the ravening wolves prowling around modern parishes. Somebody has to speak up. Who better than a bishop of the Church?
In his post, the bishop questioned how much more time bishops, the Vatican curia, and the pope will allow to pass while they continue to scandalize Catholics with complacency as many parishes host irreverent liturgies, welcome same-sex couples without calling them to conversion, and emphasize welcoming illegal migrants while refusing to address the negative impact of illegal immigration on local communities.
Bishop Strickland warned that leaders in the Church, especially the pope, who refuse to protect God’s people could end up receiving God’s judgment. He cited Matthew 18:6, where Jesus says that anyone who causes others to sin would be better off tying a millstone around his neck and dropping it into the river than standing before Him for judgment. That warning is deadly serious and deserves attention.
“How long will you halt between two masters? If you believe Christ is Lord, then follow Him! If the world is your master, then go to it! But stop profaning His sanctuary while you betray the Cross!” the bishop said on X.
“Bishops, STOP with the games! STOP with the lies. STOP turning a blind eye to the little ones! I have a massive stockpile of millstones ready to distribute among you,” he continued. “One for Pope Leo, a truckload for the Curia in the Vatican, and cargo ships full for the vast majority of today’s successors of the Apostles.”
Strickland then halted his critics in their tracks by pointing out that individuals within the Church hierarchy — the successors to the Apostles — keep harming the “little ones” in the Body of Christ.
“No brothers, HOW DARE YOU inflict harm on the little ones over and over again??” the bishop added. He then listed the various ways bishops — including the bishop of Rome — have scandalized the Church, rebuking them for mocking the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, turning it into a “bauble,” and using sacred liturgies as platforms to push heresy.
“You make the Sacred Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Holy Mass, a bauble, a bargaining chip for your worldly conniving, a platform for spewing heresy and playing footsie with the world,” he said. Numerous pro-LGBT “pride” Masses and other irreverent liturgies take place in the United States and abroad. More often than not, the priests who preside over these Masses face no consequences and receive utter silence from Rome.
He rebuked the Church hierarchy for welcoming same-sex couples into the Church without calling them to repent of their wicked lifestyles, which violate Sacred Scripture and Church teaching. Pope Leo himself grants such individuals audiences without issuing any gospel call to conversion.
“You harm the little ones when you welcome couples caught up in sin, flaunting their sad disordered lives, and instead of calling them to repentance in Jesus Christ, you chat about silly things and receive praise for being so kind,” Bishop Strickland wrote. “You even welcome them into the sacred sanctuary and drape a veil of blessing over the dung of their sin.”
A prime example of Strickland’s point comes from pro-LGBT Jesuit priest Father James Martin, who celebrated a confirmation Mass for openly gay ABC News correspondent Gio Benitez, who married another man. Benitez even credits Martin with his return to the Catholic Church, saying the priest welcomed him “exactly as I am.” Yet all who enter the Church must undergo conversion, recognizing their sinfulness and need for repentance and Christ’s work on the cross. This rejection of repentance is obvious heresy. Even orthodox Protestant churches wouldn’t accept a homosexual relationship as valid, let alone celebrate someone entering church membership without repentance.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks clearly on marriage: “The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.”
The Catholic Church explicitly condemns homosexual acts. It also labels homosexual inclinations as “objectively disordered,” calling those within the LGBT lifestyle to conversion and chastity.
Addressing illegal immigration, Strickland wrote, “You harm the little ones when you promote lawlessness and turn a blind eye to the rapes, the murders, and the attacks of nefarious criminals who waltz across open borders. Some of the little ones get caught up in these mass migrations and trampled upon as they seek a better life. Some of the little ones watch their homes and towns get invaded as shepherds say ‘we must welcome the stranger,’ and then allow marauders and criminals free rein.”
Deceased Pope Francis, Pope Leo, and U.S. bishops have fiercely condemned President Donald Trump’s efforts to end mass illegal immigration. The Holy Father has repeatedly proclaimed that the faithful will face judgment based on how they “receive the foreigner.” Even worse, the pope has compared what he calls the “inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States” under the president to supporting abortion.
Strickland’s rebuke arrives at a crucial moment, as the Church desperately needs more bold shepherds to rise up, fend off the wolves, and protect God’s people. Let’s pray Pope Leo and the other bishops heed his words.
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