FALSE PROPHET
Joseph Strickland
Catholic Bishop
Although the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the United States has more than its fair share of conservative culture warriors, the Catholic Church is rarely associated with Christian nationalism, which makes sense: It is an international denomination headquartered in its own city-state. There are, however, a growing number of exceptions, foremost among them Bishop Joseph Strickland.
Currently the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tyler, Texas, the Most Rev. Joseph Strickland has courted controversy with his radical political agenda for more than a decade.
In 2012, shortly before the presidential election, Bishop Strickland led a rally in downtown Tyler asking the faithful to turn toward God prior to the election and penned an op-ed accusing the Obama administration of challenging “fundamental truths that once were and still should be the bedrock of our society,” calling on Christians to elect politicians who reflect their religious values.
Bishop Strickland’s turn toward extremism found a new gear in 2020, embracing anti-science talking points during the height of the Covid pandemic that had already been rejected by the Vatican, then explicitly arguing that Catholics cannot vote for Democrats. His anti-LGBTQ views, subtle support for QAnon, and outward hostility towards immigrants, climate science, and even his fellow, more moderate bishops have made him a cult hero among Christian nationalists, conspiracy theorists, and other corners of the far-right fringe.
Bishop Strickland supported Donald Trump’s Big Lie of a stolen election, attending the Christian nationalist “Jericho March” and “Let the Church Roar” #stopthesteal rally in Washington, DC, on December 12, 2020, considered to be a dry run for the January 6 insurrection rallies.
Strickland’s Christian Nationalist Rhetoric
Speaking to the Jericho March, Bishop Strickland made sure to weave in themes that would come to define the Big Lie: “We pray in a special way for our nation in a time of darkness, confusion, this time of too much corruption and doubt.”
“America: The Jesuit Review” included Bishop Strickland in an article condemning “The shameful participation of Catholic leaders in Trump’s attempt to steal the election.”
Writing for CNN, Professor Paul Moses referred to Bishop Strickland as one of several “renegade Catholic clerics who shamefully backed Trump’s Big Lie.”
Responding to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ congratulations to President Biden for his victory, Bishop Strickland tweeted, “A dark cloud has descended on this nation when the USCCB and Planned Parenthood speak in unison in support of a Biden-Harris administration that supports the slaughter of innocents by abortion for all 9 months of pregnancy.”
Bishop Strickland endorsed a sermon by Wisconsin priest Father James Altman titled, “You cannot be Catholic and a Democrat. Period.” In the video, Altman angrily asserted that Democrats would burn in Hell because of the party’s support for abortion rights, DACA, and climate change mitigation efforts, also lashing out at the Southern Poverty Law Center and pro-LGBTQ priest Fr. Jim Martin.
In support, Bishop Strickland tweeted, “As the Bishop of Tyler I endorse Fr Altman’s statement in this video. My shame is that it has taken me so long. Thank you Fr Altman for your COURAGE. If you love Jesus & His Church & this nation...pleases HEED THIS MESSAGE.”
By citing his paid position as Bishop of Tyler, and not simply speaking out as an individual private citizen, Bishop Strickland likely violated the diocese’s tax-exempt status as a non-profit organization.
Praised a political speech by Passion of the Christ actor Jim Caviezel, which Slate described as “a literal call to arms against the liberal worldview [that] concluded with the proclamation that ‘the Storm is upon us’—a direct invocation of QAnon’s central conspiracy theory.”
Strickland’s Christian Nationalist Policy Positions
Bishop Strickland frequently tweets out deeply harmful anti-LGBTQ statements, such as: “Please stop labeling bishops who speak the truth of the Gospel as homophobic. God gave us sexual intimacy for the procreation of children and the deeper union of a man & woman in marriage. Stating this truth is not homophobia, it is simply reality.”
Has consistently spread COVID misinformation, including signing an open letter authored by Archbishop Carlo Viganò claiming the pandemic was being exploited to create a one-world government to “allow centuries of Christian civilization to be erased under the pretext of a virus.”
Issued a formal letter to his diocese that urged people to “reject any vaccine that uses the remains of aborted children in research, testing, development, or production.”
Bishop Strickland has accused the church of having a deep state, and has challenged the Pope to fire him for not being politically correct
After New York passed legislation expanding and protecting abortion rights, Bishop Strickland called abortion a holocaust, tweeting: “The video of the “celebration” of New York legislators as they condemned even full term unborn children to Death by Choice is a scene from Hell. Woe to those who ignore the sanctity of life, they reap the whirlwind of Hell. Stand against this holocaust in every way you can.”