The prelate’s letter criticizes his colleagues in the episcopate with astonishing severity. The fundamental reproach he addresses to them is for not fulfilling their duty as pastors of souls and defenders of the faith, at a time when it is under attack like never before. The title and leitmotif is repeated up to eight times: “What should be done? ”, implied, in this situation.
A challenge to the Synod
The situation facing the Church is described as apocalyptic: “we are on the eve of all that has been prophesied about the Church and the abominations that will occur in these times, a time when all hell attacks the Church of Jesus Christ, and a time when the angels of hell (…) stand within.
And to say to the bishops: “I think that Saint Jude had in mind men like many of you when he described men who “imudently make good food, thinking only of feeding themselves, clouds without water, carried by the winds; fruitless autumn trees, twice dead, uprooted; furious waves of the sea, foaming in their own confusion” (Jude 1, 12-13). »
The American bishops are criticized for not having reacted during the Synod, “an abomination designed not to guard the deposit of faith but to dismantle”. The aim was the replacement of “the structure of the Church (…) by a new structure of diabolical inspiration of “synodality” which, in reality, is a new Church which is in no way Catholic”.
An indictment of Pope Francis
Bishop Strickland then exposes the failings of the reigning pope: “a rudimentary understanding of the papacy allows us to see that Pope Francis has abdicated his responsibility as principal guardian of the deposit of faith.” And he recalls that the Petrine function is to be above all the guardian of the guardians (of the faith), which implies loving the Truth, which is none other than Jesus Christ.
But, he asks, does Pope Francis “love the Truth that Jesus Christ embodies? » And to respond that “unfortunately, his actions and his strategies which promote a relativized version of the truth which is not one, propel us towards a devastating conclusion: the man who occupies the Chair of Saint Peter does not like the truth and seeks to reshape it in the image of man.
He recalls the Abu Dhabi Declaration: “no bishop can ignore the declarations of Pope Francis which are unambiguous denials of the Catholic faith. Francis has publicly stated that God wants all religions to exist and that all religions are a path to God. With this statement, Pope Francis has denied an integral part of the Catholic faith,” he concludes.
And he deduces: “what I find so difficult to understand is that the apostles of modern times, the men who are ordained to be guardians of the faith, refuse to recognize this, and instead ignore or even promote this deadly lie. Every bishop and cardinal should publicly and unequivocally declare that Francis no longer teaches the Catholic faith. »
He elaborates after having repeated: What should be done? “With a Pope who actively opposes the divine truths of our Catholic faith, the responsibility falls on bishops everywhere to profess their own love of Our Lord, to guard the sacred deposit of the faith, and to oppose any attempt dismantling the truth,” he urges.
He concludes this point with a new attack: “Where are the successors of the apostles who promised to defend the sheep at the cost of their lives? They sit a few feet away, patting each other on the back, listening to words that they know full well are not the Truth, frolicking with the darkness and blaspheming the very Truth that the first apostles died to preserve. » (Bishop Strickland read this letter in Baltimore where the annual meeting of the American episcopate was being held.)
This letter indicates in Mgr Strickland an awareness of the seriousness of the situation of the Church, which is very positive, but also notes a lack of perspective, because the causes are not detected, apart from the accusations launched against the synodality of Pope Francis. This visibly leaves his soul in a sort of anguish, as he feels he is too alone to understand.
This apprehension, as well as the gravity of the danger and the urgency to do something to fight against the threats weighing on the Church, make it deal blows whose scope it has difficulty controlling, in particular for the usefulness of the cause he wants to defend. He wants to awaken the conscience of the American bishops, but the severity – even the violence – of his words risks alienating them.
It remains to be hoped that, patiently tracing the threads of the crisis, he will be able to realize its origin in the Second Vatican Council and the post-conciliar reforms, which will enable him to combat the terrible crisis that the Church is suffering with increased efficiency. and, let us hope, to bring other bishops with him.
