Bp Strickland Provokes A Silence In Baltimore

Via The Catholic Herald:

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops was briefly unsettled this week when Bishop Joseph Strickland intervened against Fr James Martin over a recent confirmation liturgy involving an openly “married” homosexual couple.

The exchange occurred during the Committee on Doctrine’s consideration of Action Item #03, which concerns updated Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.

Bishop Strickland spoke briefly and drew attention to images widely circulated online of a recent liturgy involving a well-known American broadcaster. “Since we’re in the area of doctrine,” he said, “I don’t know how many of us have seen on social media, priests and others gathered celebrating the confirmation of a man living with a man openly. And it just needs to be addressed.”

Bishop Strickland continued, stating, “Father James Martin once again involved. Great pictures of all of them smiling. Here we are talking about doctrine. I just thought I need to raise that issue. I know it’s not part of any agenda, but this body gathered, we need to address it. Thank you.”

At about 6:00 in the video embedded above, he comments,

I said a few words, spoke for maybe 30 seconds, not very long, and then the rest of the clip [from the session] was total silence, until, I guess, the bishops said, that were leading the meeting, sort of recovered from my interruption, and just told the bishop that was there at the podium, "Oh, Bishop, continue with your presentation." It was like I didn't exist, and the words that I'd spoken were not heard. It was just sort of a blip in the broadcast.

On one hand, the Baltimore bishops are generally seen to have taken conservative steps in electing Abp Coakley as president, as well as formally adopting a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender patients in Catholic hospitals. On the other, Bp Strickland's simple request that the meeting address the question of Fr James Martin endorsing communion for individuals in a state of mortal sin provoked a stunned silence, a "does not compute".

The request, of course, is hardly as simple as Strickland made it seem. Pope Leo granted a private audience to Fr Martin this past September 1, which is taken as a signal that Leo intends to continue Francis's legacy of "openness and welcome" toward the LGBTQ+ community. It's hard not to imagine the thoughts that were racing through the bishops' heads in the ensuing silence.

Thus places Bp Strickland in the position of truthteller, a Huckleberry Finn, a James Dean playing Caleb Trask in East of Eden, a Holden Caulfield, even a Froggy Gremlin.

Froggy the Gremlin was a character created by Smilin' Ed McConnell and brought to radio in the 1940s and television in 1950s on the Smilin' Ed's Gang show, and later Andy's Gang TV show, hosted by actor Andy Devine after McConnell's death.

. . . Froggy was a troublemaker. Disrespectful of adult authority figures, Froggy played practical jokes and disrupted the presentations of other guests. If a guest were to demonstrate how to paint a wall, he might say, "And now I'm going to take this can of paint..." Froggy would chime in, "And dump it over my head." And the confused guest would proceed to do so.

I asked Chrome AI mode, "Are there any Catholic saints who resemble Froggy the Gremlin in certain ways?" It replied,

There is no Catholic saint who physically resembles Froggy the Gremlin or has an appearance based on an amphibian. Froggy the Gremlin is an American fictional character from mid-20th century children's television, and the Catholic Church does not have saints with a physical description or iconography matching a green, mischievous, frog-like creature.

So there you have it. Bp Strickland is neither a frog nor a saint, nor is any case for his canonization likely to be taken up in any foreseeable future. Nevertheless, I wondered exactly why he was removed as a bishop, and I discovered that nobody really knows.

In an online interview given several hours after his dismissal, Strickland stated that he was uncertain of the exact reason he was removed from office, "except I've threatened some of the powers that be with the truth of the Gospel".

But it appears that he's been on point over a good many issues, including of all things, COVID:

In May 2020, Strickland signed a petition released by [Abp Carlo Maria] Viganò that criticized government restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Viganò characterized them as intentionally "...creating panic among the world's population with the sole aim of permanently imposing unacceptable forms of restriction on freedoms." The petition singled out the use of contact tracing devices as well as mandatory vaccination as infringements on people's rights. It also cited "growing doubts ... about the actual contagiousness, danger, and resistance of the virus."

In a December 2020 letter to his diocese regarding the COVID-19 vaccines, Strickland wrote "I urge you to reject any vaccine that uses the remains of aborted children." He later tweeted, "The fact remains that ANY vaccine available today involves using murdered children before they could even be born." Strickland added, "I renew my pledge — I will not extend my life by USING murdered children. This is evil WAKE UP!"

I can only conclude that I haven't been praying fervently enough for our bishops.