Add your nameStop election-denying, QAnon-spreading, Francis-attacking, partisan bishop

Posted: June 30, 2023

Tyler, TX, Bishop Joseph Strickland might be the worst Catholic bishop in the United States. Among many other problems, he is a Christian-nationalist election denier who spoke to at least one "Stop the Steal" rally before the January 6 insurrection.

Bishop Strickland tweets QAnon links. He spreads deadly anti-vaccine misinformation. He blatantly violates the separation of church and state by falsely asserting that Catholics cannot vote for Democrats. He is a strident critic of Pope Francis, once endorsing a video that called the pope a "diabolically disordered clown."

Here's the good news: Bishop Strickland is finally facing an official Vatican investigation.

Because of the extremist bishop's dangerous popularity among the Catholic far-right (who even call him "America's Bishop"), there has been immense backlash to the investigation. We need to make sure the Vatican hears from another perspective: One that is grateful for the investigation, and that wants it to go further.

News reports say the investigation focused on diocesan mismanagement. This is a good start, but the largest denomination in the country shouldn't miss this opportunity to firmly reject anti-democracy Christian nationalism. Although Christian nationalism -- the political ideology behind the failed January 6 insurrection -- is mostly associated with evangelicalism, it has also begun to creep into conservative American Catholicism, thanks in part to the Bishop of Tyler.

Let's thank the bishops leading the investigation, and call on them to explicitly name and denounce the racism, political violence, and oppression perpetuated by Bishop Strickland's Christian nationalism.

Sign the petition:

Dear Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Christophe Pierre and apostolic visitors Bishop Gerald Kicanas and Bishop Dennis Sullivan,

As grassroots Catholics and ecumenical allies from across the United States, we write to thank you and the Vatican for the apostolic visitation to Tyler Bishop Joseph Strickland.

We also ask that your visitation and subsequent report be broadened to include not only management issues within the Diocese of Tyler, as reported throughout Catholic media, but also Bishop Strickland's leading role in introducing harmful white Christian nationalism to American Catholicism.

Christian nationalism is the political ideology that has helped inspire not only election denial and misinformation but also increasing levels of political violence in the United States, including the failed January 6 insurrection; the mass shooting at a Black-neighborhood Buffalo, NY, grocery store; and street violence from extremist militias like the Proud Boys.

Within the United States, white Christian nationalism is most often associated with evangelicalism. However, it has unfortunately also begun to creep into conservative American Catholicism thanks in part to the influence of Bishop Strickland, as well as Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, activist Steve Bannon, activist Milo Yiannopoulos, antisemitic Charlottesville rioter Nick Fuentes, General Michael Flynn, and extremist media outlets like Church Militant.

We draw our definition of Christian nationalism from the ecumenical coalition Christians Against Christian Nationalism, which states: "Christian nationalism seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America's constitutional democracy. Christian nationalism demands Christianity be privileged by the State and implies that to be a good American, one must be Christian. It often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation."

In addition to its ties to white supremacy, Christian nationalism is also linked to antisemitism and QAnon conspiracy theories.

Another key facet of white Christian nationalism is its thirst for secular political power at any cost, no matter who gets hurt or how many elections must be overturned. The belief that its adherents are embarking in divinely ordained spiritual warfare in support of politicians anointed by God is what has led to rampant election denial and subsequent violence in the United States.

We know that you are probably already aware of the long list of politically partisan and Christian-nationalist activities that Bishop Strickland has engaged in over the past few years. First and foremost is his support for Donald Trump's "Big Lie" of a stolen election, including his virtual remarks before the Christian nationalist "Jericho March" election-denial rally in Washington, DC, on December 12, 2020, alongside alongside such extremist political figures as Alex Jones, Michael Flynn, Mike Lindell, and "Stop the Steal" organizer Ali Alexander. The event was considered by many to be a dry run for the pre-insurrection White House rally of January 6.

We are also concerned by Bishop Strickland's promotion of QAnon conspiracy theories, his repeated disregard for the American separation of church and state, his support for disgraced Wisconsin priest and conspiracy theorist Rev. James Altman, his hostility toward migrants and refugees, his cozy relationship with election-denying websites like Church Militant and LifeSiteNews, and his borrowing Donald Trump's far-right "deep state" rhetoric to attack Pope Francis and the Vatican.

Clearly, Bishop Strickland's harmful actions and rhetoric have repercussions that reverberate far beyond the Diocese of Tyler, and far beyond even the Catholic Church. That is why, even though a plurality of Faithful America's members are Roman Catholic, this letter is signed not only by fellow Catholics but by an ecumenical coalition of Christians from across the United States.

We welcome and are grateful to you for an apostolic visitation of Bishop Strickland on any legitimate grounds, including administrative or financial mismanagement of his diocese. We also urge you to also include his embrace of white Christian nationalism, election denial, political partisanship, and QAnon misinformation in your report to the Dicastery of Bishops.

White Christian nationalism is perhaps the greatest threat currently facing both democracy and the Body of Christ. Please do not miss this remarkable opportunity for the Catholic Church to prevent it from taking further hold within the Church in America. Use this moment to explicitly name and denounce Bishop Strickland's role in spreading the political ideology of Christian nationalism and thus the racism, political violence, misinformation, and oppression that it enables.

Thank you.

Your siblings in Christ,
The Undersigned Members of Faithful America

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