NOTES BETWEEN PRINTED EDITIONS
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
December 8, 2023
Letters to the Editor
The Pilot
66 Brooks Drive
Braintree, MA 02184-3839
letters@thebostonpilot.com
To the Editor:
The OSV News story on the removal of Bishop Joseph Strickland repeatedly suggested that his ministry had become “detrimental or ineffective,” (Bishop Strickland removal is ‘administrative, not penal,’ says canon law expert, 11/17/2023).
No evidence was offered to substantiate that assertion, and the Vatican has not told the faithful of the Diocese of Tyler why their Ordinary was expelled from his apostolic office by the Pope.
The explanation, by Father John Beal of the Catholic University of America, that Strickland’s dismissal was an ‘administrative removal,’ confirms that there was no due process nor a finding of misconduct against Strickland.
Even more revealing was Beal’s admission that there is no written “process with criteria” for such discretionary removals, and that they were a “recent development” in the history of the Church.
Bishops are successors of the Apostles, not corporate branch managers who can be summarily fired at the caprice of the Pope.
The sacking of Bishop Strickland has set a dangerous precedent in the government of the Catholic Church.
Sincerely,
C. J. Doyle
Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
P. O. Box 112
Boston, MA 02131
(617) 524-6309
