Pope Francis dismisses prominent US conservative bishop who was also his fierce critic

Pope Francis dismisses prominent US conservative bishop who was also his fierce critic

In a rare move, Pope Francis on Saturday (Nov 11) dismissed US bishop Joseph Strickland, a prominent Catholic conservative and one of Pope's fiercest critics who has repeatedly denounced his papacy, the Vatican said in a statement.

The sudden decision to sack a senior Catholic figure came after Francis sent two US bishops to visit Strickland's Texas diocese in June, as per news agency AFP reports.

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"The Holy Father has relieved from the pastoral governance of the diocese of Tyler (US) Joseph E. Strickland," the Vatican said in a statement.

It further said that the bishop of Austin, Joe Vasquez, had been named as apostolic administrator of the diocese, however, it did not give any further details.

It is very rare for a bishop to be directly relieved of his responsibilities rather than being told to step down.

Earlier, in September, Strickland had addressed rumours of being encouraged by the Vatican to resign.

"I cannot resign as bishop of Tyler because that would be me abandoning the flockunder my care," he wrote.

"I have also said that I will respect the authority of Pope Francis if he removes me from office as Bishop of Tyler."

"I love Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church which He established."

"My only desire is to speak His Truth and live God's Will to the best of my ability," he wrote in his blog posting.

So far, he hasn't made any immediate comment about his dismissal.

(With inputs from agencies)