‘America’s Bishop’ Under Vatican Investigation After Protesting Against Drag Queen Group

Thousands gather at the gates of Dodger Stadium to protest against Los Angeles Dodgers' decision to honor an anti-Catholic drag queen group at its annual LGBT celebration at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on June 16, 2023. (Courtesy of Catholic Vote)

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.

Strickland, who has been dubbed “America’s bishop” in the press, was the only U.S. bishop attending the protest, which may have embarrassed Archbishop Jose Gomez of the LA Archdiocese, according to an article appearing on Church Militant, a right-wing religious group.

Strickland also accused Pope Francis of undermining the Catholic faith on Twitter.

The Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops concluded the investigation on Strickland and the Diocese of Tyler last week, according to several religious news outlets.

Pope Francis, surrounded by security, waves to well-wishers at the Apostolic Nunciature to the United States upon returning from his trip to Capitol Hill, on Sept. 24, 2015, in Washington. (Molly Riley/AFP/Getty Images)

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.

Catholics were upset with the drag queen group for what they saw as a mockery of their religion. In one performance posted on social media, a scantily clad drag queen member writhed suggestively during a pole dance on a cross with Jesus.

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.

Members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence attend a memorial service in Orlando, Florida on June 19, 2016 (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops  released a statement calling on Catholics to pray on June 16 as an act of reparation for “the blasphemies against our Lord we see in our culture today.”

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.

Protesters hold signs at a Catholics for Catholics event in response to the Dodgers' Pride Night event prior to the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., on June 16, 2023. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

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.

The team honored the Sisters with a Community Hero Award an hour before the game in a mostly empty stadium due to “security concerns,” according to a Fox News report.

Rome’s investigation does not appear to have muzzled the Texas bishop.

Since the investigation, he made a string of posts on Twitter aimed at fighting corruption and evil, including one comparing the “woke” to gnostics who believe salvation comes only from elite knowledge.

“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.

Pope Francis meets U.S. Catholic Church leaders Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, Archbishop of Los Angeles Jose Horacio Gomez, Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, and Monsignor Brian Bransfield, General Secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, during a private audience at the Vatican, Sept. 13, 2018. (Vatican Media/Reuters)

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.

Protesters hold signs at a Catholics for Catholics event in response to the Dodgers' Pride Night event including the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence on June 16, 2023. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

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.

Epoch Times reporter Carol Cassis contributed to this story.