Pope Francis removes a leading US conservative critic as bishop of Tyler, Texas

Pope Francis removed the bishop of Tyler, Texas, on Saturday, a conservative prelate active on social media who has been a harsh opponent of the pontiff and has come to symbolise polarisation within the US Catholic hierarchy.

According to a one-sentence statement from the Vatican, Francis “relieved” Bishop Joseph Strickland of pastoral oversight of Tyler and nominated the bishop of Austin as interim administrator.

Strickland, 65, has emerged as a prominent critic of Francis, accusing him earlier this year in a tweet of “undermining the deposit of faith.” He has been particularly critical of Francis’ recent meeting on the future of the Catholic Church, at which hot-button themes such as how to better embrace LGBTQ+ Catholics were discussed.