Bishop Strickland says he will not resign if pope asks

Bishop Strickland says he will not resign if pope asks. What comes next?

Thursday, September 21st, 2023

Firebrand Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland, who has been subject to a Vatican investigation over his leadership style and right-wing comments on social media, has recently vowed not to resign or “voluntarily abandon” his diocese, even if Pope Francis asks him to do so.

But the Catholic Church’s Code of Canon Law leaves Strickland little to no room to resist if the pontiff demands his resignation, several prominent canon lawyers told NCR.

Canon law makes it clear that the pope has “supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary power” in the Catholic Church and that any final decree he issues is binding and cannot be appealed.

Related Posts:

Additional reading

News category: News Shorts, World.

Tags: Bishop Joseph Strickland, Bishop resignation, Canon Law, Diocese of Tyler

Analysis and Comment
- The inheritance of Anzac Day
  
  Each year the eve of Anzac Day is given over to the International Day of Multiculturalism and Diplomacy for Peace. This year the conjunction is particularly apposite at a time when the air is full of wars and rumours of Read more
- Experts at Rome meet – delve into historical abuses of power
  
  The nature of power and how the abuse of power has been dealt with in the past and present were the focus of an international conference in Rome attended by about a dozen scholars earlier this month. Experts in history, Read more
- Gathered around the altar
  
  “Without liturgical reform, there is no reform of the Church,” Pope Francis said emphatically last February during an address to the plenary assembly of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. His remarks came around the Read more
- The real cause of the war in Gaza—and the only path to peace
  
  We have already seen six months of war in Gaza. Now, it seems that Israel is beginning its last phase of conquest, after ordering a million and a half people to take refuge in Rafah, a border town with Egypt. Read more

Search CathNews

Search for:
CathNews
is free

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:
Great Reads