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TYLER, Texas (LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas has publicly defended the traditional Latin Mass, stating that “any attempt to sever the traditional Mass from the Church” is an attack on “the Deposit of Faith.”
Christ is the vine. The traditional Latin Mass is rooted in the vine, robust with truth & bears much fruit. Any attempt to sever the traditional Mass from the Church is an attack on the unbroken link to tradition as received from the apostles, & an attack on the Deposit of Faith. pic.twitter.com/W5CKeLNT4b
— Bishop J. Strickland (@Bishopoftyler) August 1, 2023
The outspoken bishop of the Texas diocese issued his statement via X, formerly called Twitter, and seemed to address the severe restrictions imposed on the traditional Mass in recent years by Pope Francis’ motu proprio Traditionis Custodes and Cardinal Arthur Roche’s subsequent dubia and Rescript.
READ: Cdl. Roche says Latin Mass needs to be restricted because the ‘theology of the Church has changed’
Strickland himself offered his first traditional Mass in June 2020, after having rediscovered the ancient form of the Mass earlier that year. Reflecting on his first public traditional Mass, Strickland stated that it was Eucharistic Adoration which drew him to develop a love for the Church’s ancient rites.
The writings of Benedict — Summorum Pontificum and The Spirit of the Liturgy, which I read — and honestly being caught up praying in [Eucharistic] adoration all helped me to deepen my appreciation. Adoration has become the center of my life as a bishop, in fact. I try to be in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the mornings and the evenings every day that I can, as much as I can.
Describing his gradual process in coming to learn the ancient Mass, Strickland stated: “It’s so clear that this liturgy is not about us — it’s fully about Him [Christ]. I want to honor Him.”
Noting in 2020 that he wished to bring “both liturgies,” the Novus Ordo and the traditional rite, “to the understanding of reverence and focus on the Eucharist,” Strickland employed a musical analogy to compare the forms:
The way that I describe it is that the ordinary form is like the “basic melody” of a symphony. It is recognizable. The extraordinary form is the same melody accompanied by the full orchestra….You can see in it where the “melody line” of the Novus Ordo has been taken from, but you are caught up in the splendor, here, of the full “orchestra.” There’s nothing but awe.
READ: Bp. Strickland calls on Catholics to pray for Pope Francis following attacks on Latin Mass
In recent weeks, Bishop Strickland has been at the center of much speculation after he was subjected to an Apostolic Visitation in June 2023. The visitation was conducted by two retired bishops: Bishop Dennis Sullivan of Camden, New Jersey, and former Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona.
The Apostolic Visitation is believed to have been prompted in particular by a May 13 Twitter post in which Strickland explicitly stated that “I reject his [Pope Francis’] program of undermining the Deposit of Faith.”
Strickland’s statement was part of a rewording of his rejection of a view held by Catholic podcaster Patrick Coffin – namely that Pope Francis is not the real Pope. The bishop wrote:
Please allow me to clarify regarding, ‘Patrick Coffin has challenged the authenticity of the Pope Francis.’ If this is accurate I disagree, I believe Pope Francis is the Pope but it is time for me to say that I reject his program of undermining the Deposit of Faith. Follow Jesus.
Strickland’s original message had been to support the Magis Center, which had issued a public statement distancing themselves from Coffin due to his views regarding the vacancy of the Papal throne.
His recent social media post decrying attempts to limit the traditional Mass has unsurprisingly drawn support from devotees of the church’s ancient liturgy, but Strickland’s critics have also been swift to intervene.
Heterodox writer Mike Lewis, editor of Where Peter Is, accused Strickland’s post as revealing he had “totally lost any sense of Catholic ecclesiology and authority.”
Undeterred by critics and the Vatican’s recent visit, Strickland has continued his customary social media posts and analysis of the Church on his weekly radio show, stating in July that he was prepared to be martyred for the Faith. He also decried critics of traditional Catholics, saying that “they use these things to shoot people down, because [most of] the people that are using the language of ‘rad trad’ … are saying all this Scripture needs to change, or the Catechism needs to change, or we have to develop beyond this.”
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