The Vatican is investigating an outspoken Texas bishop who criticized the Pope and recently headed a prayer rally in Los Angeles, protesting against a drag queen group dressed as nuns honored by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The exact focus of the investigation has not been disclosed.
It was conducted after Bishop Joseph Strickland of the Tyler Diocese attended the June 16 Catholic protest against the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence appearance at the Major League Baseball team’s Pride Night.
The Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops concluded the investigation on Strickland and the Diocese of Tyler last week, according to several religious news outlets.
Strickland, a Texas firebrand known for taking on social justice issues, has a Twitter following of some 125,000. He vocally defends the unborn, marriage, and traditional values, and is known as a culture war champion of the Right.
The Dodger protest was co-sponsored by nonprofits such as Catholic Vote and Catholics for Catholics, lasting four hours. During the height of the rally, organizers estimated 10,000 people showed up outside the gates, according to news coverage by The Epoch Times.
Supporters of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence say they are a satirical group that donates proceeds to charities.
The statement was issued by Military Services Archbishop Timothy Broglio, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and Archbishop Gomez.
They wrote, “a professional baseball team has shockingly chosen to honor a group whose lewdness and vulgarity in mocking our Lord, His Mother, and consecrated women cannot be overstated.”
“This is not just offensive and painful to Christians everywhere; it is blasphemy,” the statement said.
The Dodgers announced the drag group’s appearance, then canceled it after public pressure. The MLB team then recanted after an LGBT backlash and reinvited the group.
Rome’s investigation does not appear to have muzzled the Texas bishop.
“I am not ‘America’s Bishop,’ but I pray that speaking truth with clarity and charity will inspire America’s Bishops to join me in speaking truth,” he wrote.
He also called for prayer in hopes Catholics would awaken to the devastating “stranglehold that corruption has on the Roman Catholic Church.”
“The church, which is the mystical body of Christ, should be guiding us out of this darkness, but she is weak,” he posted.
He also posted that it had been the greatest “joy in my life” to shepherd the flock of Tyler.
The Roman Catholic Church’s inquiry into a U.S. diocese is relatively rare.
The apostolic visitation examines how those in leadership positions operate. Such visits have led to disciplinary action against other bishops.
Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Richard Stika of Knoxville, Tenn., on June 27 after an apostolic visitation investigating financial mismanagement and abuse cases.
A spokeswoman for the Tyler Diocese told The Epoch Times that Strickland was not available for comment and the diocese had no statement to make.
Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See, sometimes called the Vatican Embassy, in Washington did not immediately respond to a request from The Epoch Times seeking comment.