When Catholic leaders met, the dismissed bishop took his message to the streets

In a windowless ballroom on Baltimore’s waterfront on Wednesday, more than 250 U.S. bishops tried to navigate the choppy waters of the increasingly contentious relationship between Pope Francis and conservative U.S. Catholics, many in their own ranks.

But the most visible sign of that struggle was outside on the streets, as a small crowd gathered to show support for Bishop Joseph Strickland, the bellicose bishop from Texas who was fired by Francis over the weekend. Bishop Strickland has accused the pope of undermining the Catholic faith and represents an outspoken group in the church that sees Francis as dangerously liberal.

Just steps from the hotel, Bishop Strickland’s supporters sang and knelt to pray with the deposed cleric. Most held rosaries, and some hung signs that read, “We stand with Bishop Strickland.”

Josiah Reffo, who converted to Catholicism less than a year ago, read about this week’s event on the right-wing Catholic site LifeSiteNews and drove from his home in Virginia to attend. He said he saw Bishop Strickland as a truth-teller who stands against dark forces in the institutional church, including the pope and many other bishops.

The meeting of American bishops, which takes place every year, usually does not cause much drama. Even the agenda for this year’s meeting — which ends Thursday — didn’t seem like a ruckus. Action items include adjustments to a prayer book for years in which the traditional date of the Feast of the Epiphany happens to fall before the Sunday celebration of the feast; the reauthorization of a commission against racism; and the progress to sainthood of 19th-century priest Isaac Thomas Hecker.

But beneath the surface and on the sidelines, there has been friction over issues such as the church’s political approach and Pope Francis’ recent global meeting on the future of the church, which has unsettled some conservatives. The meeting also came just days after Francis clarified that transgender people could be baptized and serve as godparents.

In the run-up to the meeting, one of the biggest potential conflicts boiled down to whether a new introduction to an existing document on Catholic involvement in politics should describe abortion as “our” top priority or simply “a” concern of many.

The document was adopted by an overwhelming majority on Wednesday morning. It describes abortion as “our top priority,” and also cites gun violence, terrorism, the death penalty and “lack of justice for the poor.”

Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the pope’s representative in the United States, opened the public portion of the meeting on Tuesday with a call for unity.

He recently took a sharper tone interview with the American magazine, in which he criticized the American Catholic Church for being well organized but isolated. “Almost no one comes to church anymore,” he said in the interview. And he added that some young priests, a group that is overwhelming conservative, were in danger of withdrawing from the world rather than reaching out. Pope Francis recently complained about a “strong, organized, reactionary attitude” working against him in the American church.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, the bishops’ president, walked back Cardinal Pierre’s characterization of an isolated American church. “Our churches are not empty yet,” he said wryly, citing evangelistic efforts such as a daylong public event at an Indianapolis stadium next summer focused on the Eucharist.

The bishops elected Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, to head the Commission on Pro-Life Activities, a surprise victory over Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, a high-profile conservative who repeatedly confronted Representative Nancy Pelosi when she was speaker of the House, on her position on abortion.

Voters in Bishop Thomas’ state last week loudly approved a ballot measure enshrining the right to abortion in the Ohio Constitution.

In an interview, Archbishop Cordileone said he was aware that some would interpret his defeat as a rejection of his combative approach. He said bishops should continue on this path, supporting programs for pregnant women and encouraging adoption.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Bishop Strickland had not been mentioned from the podium during public sessions. Although he has been stripped of diocesan leadership, he retains his title of bishop and could, in theory, have attended the meeting as a non-voting member.

The Vatican has not given a reason for Bishop Strickland’s dismissal, which followed a formal investigation this summer into his leadership of the diocese.

Bishop Strickland said in an interview that Cardinal Pierre asked him not to attend the meeting. Cardinal Pierre could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday. Instead, Bishop Strickland chose to linger around the edges of the event, with attendees sharing observations of him along the waterfront, dining with supporters at an Italian restaurant, and at the James Joyce Pub around the corner.

“I got in trouble for being honest,” he said Wednesday, as his fellow bishops bustled inside during their lunch break. He said a few of them had contacted him in recent days. But “they’re scared,” he said. “They are afraid that the same thing would happen to them if they said something.”