Texas Former Bishop Celebrates Mass in Florida

"I Urge all faithful Catholics to speak up, enough is enough. Enough with silent shepherd, enough with with a corrupt Vatican, enough with blasphamies & desecration of Jesus Christ. Let us denounce so called bishops who bless sin & hide wolves among the sheep. ENOUGH!". This is a Twitter post from April 23, 2024, by Bishop Jospeh Strickland. Bishop Strickland was the Bishop of Tyler, Texas. And was removed by Pope Francis. Now this is not a discussion of his removal from the Diocese. (If you want to look at the whole Strickland thing, here's the story from a Catholic withing the Diocese of Tyler, who wrote for the NCR: https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/joseph-strickland-was-my-bishop-heres-why-he-had-go). But today, let's take a look at something Bishop Strickland did. Bishop Strickland has been in recent Catholic news, following the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency. He was recently at the Capital for the March of Life, held every year in Washington DC. But, even more recently, he was in Florida. First at Mar-A-Lago, the Trump residency. There was an Adoration service held there, which was preceeded by a whole lot of people speaking, including Doctor Taylor Marshal. Now I will not share my personal opinion on this. But what I want to talk about is what after this, still in Florida. And that was a mass held by Bishop Strickland, in association with Willie Guardiola, a local there, at his parish, which is a Maronite parish. And here is the description given by LifeSite News: "Bishop Joseph Strickland and Father James Altman gathered hundreds for a reverent, uncompromising Catholic Mass in Florida — and the impact was undeniable. Discover how this event became a rallying cry for truth, life, and Eucharistic devotion. From powerful liturgy to prayer outside abortion clinics, this is the Catholic Church as it was meant to be.".

Now, for those of you unfamiliar with either of these men, obviously, Bishop Joseph Strickland, is a removed Bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, who is known for his Critisicisms of Pope Francis, and his criticisms of the new mass, and Second Vatican Council. Even more critical of all three of those things is Father James Altman (who Trent Horn discussed on his podcast), who is called a "canceled priest".

Now, this mass, and even as Willie himself, the organizer said, was there playing the guitar and harmonica. Now for those of you unfamiliar with the whole Vatican II "contreversy", people, such as Strickland and Altman, dislike the new mass for it's "irreverance". Summed up in the so called "Spirit of Vatican II", or "Guitar Mass". Which is often their criticisms of it. BUT! Here hey are celebrating what quite literally is, a "guitar mass"! It's hypocritical! That's why I brought up that quote. Here's a cleric, a prelate, who believes that there's something wrong with the shepherds in his church, when here he can't even see his own hypocrisy!

Where Peter Is, writer Mike Lewis, has this to write: "But the Mass celebrated by Strickland appeared to follow the contemporary Roman Rite — hymns like “Be Not Afraid” and “Here I am, Lord” accompanied by guitar and harmonica — rather than the Maronite Rite’s distinctive Syriac liturgy, raising questions about liturgical compliance and the intentions behind the event’s framing.". He also writes the fact that Altman, "that a diocesan decree prohibited Altman from presenting himself as a priest in public, including “wearing clerics in public or on YouTube videos.”"

I also want to point out a few things, I noticed liturgically. First, the deacon is not wearing a dalmatic, which is the traditional garment of a deacon. The stole could be a Maronite cut, I'm not fully sure, but it does not look like the traditional Roman style either. Second, all the concelebrants are wearing stoles, with the celebrant wearing a Roman Chasuble, and one of the concelebrants looks to be wearing Maronite vestments (including another wearing a Maronite style stole). Second, Father Altman, wearing a traditional alb and stole, lacks an amice. That's just what I noticed. Next, the procession order is wrong, the incense leads. I did not watch the full mass, but I skipped throught it.

So, there you have it. Bishop Strickland and Father Altman, celebrating the Novus Ordo, even then a Guitar mass, in a Maronite Parish in Florida. Kind of showing a bit of Hypocrisy, in their criticisms of the New Mass, when they themselves go and do, what seems like they are critical of. I don't have a big problem with the guitar, but the harmonica?

The Where Peter is Article has this to say, as well: "His (Strickland's) participation in the March 20 Mass and his willingness to concelebrate with a suspended sedevacantist priest (Altman) raise troubling questions about his intentions. As a canon lawyer himself, Strickland surely knows that he is courting further restrictions and sanctions from Rome. Is he deliberately defying Church authorities in order to force their hands to discipline him, so that he can further solidify his “martyr” narrative?"

I did no write this to insult anyone, but merely to point out what I perceieve to be a little bit of hypocrisy from these two clerics.

The best advise, as I was once told by a priest, is merely to stay clear of "Rad Trads". (If you want to learn about the faith from a good priest, I would recomend Father Leo).