Bishop Strickland gives extensive interview

On Friday, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, the brave defender of the faith who has been targeted by Pope Francis for teaching what the Church has always held to be true, had an extensive conversation with Dr. Robert Moynihan and Fr. Charles Murr.

If you don't know Dr. Robert Moynihan is founder and editor-in-chief of Inside the Vatican magazine. He is an American journalist who speaks five languages, and a seasoned Vatican analyst. He earned his B.A. in English, magna cum laude, from Harvard, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Medieval Studies from Yale. His thesis title was The Influence of Joachim of Fiore on the Early Franciscans: A Study of the Commentary Super Hieremiam. Other research fields included: History of Christianity, Later Roman Empire and The Age of Chaucer. Moynihan also received a Diploma in Latin Letters from the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy.

Dr. Moynihan is a world-renowned commentator on Catholic issues who has appeared on Fox News, CNN, ABC, EWTN and other international networks to discuss the legacy of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI; he appeared live on Fox as the lead analyst for the election of our current pope, Francis.

Fr Murr is a Catholic priest, author, linguist, educator, raconteur and founder of an Orphanage in Tepatitlan, Jalisco, Mexico. Murr is notable as a recipient of the "Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World" award and the "Ten Outstanding Young Americans". Both honours were awarded in 1985.

I provide this background to establish that these are heavy weight commenters and intellectuals with impeccable track records.

In this interview their support for Bishop Strickland is palpable from the outset and demonstrative of the growing dismay of faithful American Catholics with a Vatican that is attacking faithful bishops and priests, as well as lay people, and promoting error (eg Fr James Martin sj).

In this interview, Bishop Strickland confirms he has received no communication from the Vatican since the Apostolic Visitation on June 24th. This seems to me to make him the victim of deliberate Vatican gossip or, as Dr Gavin Ashenden pointed out in our Catholic Herald podcast on bishop Strickland broadcast last week, it is potentially an exercise in kite flying to see how people would react to Strickland's removal.

Strickland explains  "I’m a simple guy" but is clear that he believes profoundly in our Lord Jesus Christ. He says "People" want him to quit speaking up but he can’t; he is a successor of the Apostles and his duty is to preach the faith. I think it is this - you might say - lack of guile is what has brought Strickland into the spotlight. But it is incredibly heroic and moving to see such a simple and obvious faith in a bishop. By "people", one can only assume he means bishops who would rather he kept his head down, but I believe Strickland has correctly recognised the gravity of the situation and its cause: Jorge Bergoglio.

When Strickland was asked to be bishop of Tyler he had worked closely with the bishops and had a good idea of what bishops do. Archbishop Vigano called him and it surprised him that he had been asked to be the bishop.

It's especially good to hear Strickland speak disparagingly about The McCarrick Report, which he says was a “nothing burger” and he states that we are never going to know what went on because too many bishops and cardinals are implicated.

Watch the full thing here: