Bishop Joseph E. Strickland: When Shepherds Sleep, the Wolves Feast

Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, Bishop Emeritus, September 5, 2025

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“For the Lord God doth nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

Brothers and sisters, if God reveals His secrets to prophets, then we must listen – even if it startles us. Today, we must speak with urgency: what is unfolding in the life of the Church isn’t abstract – it’s real, immediate, and demands our vigilance.”

“There is a way which seemeth just to a man; but the ends thereof lead to death” (Proverbs 14:12).

In December 2023, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued Fiducia supplicans, allowing priests to impart short, private blessings to individuals – even same-sex couples – so long as they aren’t blessing a union or relationship. Though the Church affirms she cannot bless sin, this ambiguity forces faithful Catholics into confusion.

“Dearly beloved, believe not every spirit; but try the spirits, if they be of God …” (I John 4:1).

Just weeks ago, reports confirmed that an Italian association of LGBT Christians – La Tenda di Gionata – “Jonathan’s Tent” – have organized a pilgrimage during the 2025 Jubilee. Their request was initially included on the Vatican’s Jubilee calendar – not as a Vatican-sponsored event, but still listed – then quietly removed. Later, when details were submitted, it was restored. A Vatican spokesperson clarified: “Once it is ascertained that there is space, we insert the pilgrimage into the general calendar.”

Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, prefect for the Section of New Evangelization of the Dicastery for Evangelization, defended the decision, saying: “The Jubilee belongs to the people; it is for all; it cannot be denied to anyone … I wonder who could forbid them a pilgrimage to the Holy Door.”

The group was approved to make a pilgrimage during the 2025 Jubilee, scheduled for September 5-6, 2025, at 3 p.m. in Rome. The group will conduct a Mass and prayer vigil, followed by crossing the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica – a first in Jubilee history for a specifically LGBT pilgrimage. Although Vatican officials clarified that the event is listed in the general Jubilee calendar and is not sponsored by them, the inclusion marks an unprecedented level of recognition.

The Apostolic Penitentiary has published the norms on the granting of Indulgences during the 2025 Jubilee. The Indulgence, with the remission and forgiveness of sins, can be received by all who are “truly repentant,” who, during the Holy Year, purified by the sacrament of Penance and refreshed by Holy Communion, pray for the intentions of the Holy Father, while visiting one of the four Major Papal Basilicas of Rome or one of the sacred places all over the world listed by the Church.

However, it is not sufficient just to pass through the Holy Door to obtain the indulgence. One must confess and be repentant of one’s sins. Without the intention of not sinning, there is no forgiveness of sins or remission of the punishments that are the consequence of sins.

This action, like Fiducia Supplicans, produces ambiguity and confusion among the faithful. Practicing homosexuality is a serious sin. If a person with same-sex attraction engages in homosexual acts but later confesses and repents of his sin, then he can certainly pass through the Holy Door; however, this group which seeks to “expand the Church’s support and welcome for LGBT people” does not state that conversion is their goal, but instead that they seek to “pray and reflect with the Church, offering their experience of faith and their queer lives as a path to encounter God.”

However, the Jubilee is not for the purpose of the canonization of sin, but rather it is the occasion to convert. As the Psalm states, only the just enter through the Door of the Lord.

Also, across the globe, celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass is being curtailed. Cardinal Raymond Burke issued a powerful defense: The Extraordinary Form of the Mass “is a living form of the Roman Rite and has never ceased to be so.” He further denounced the restrictions as “severe and revolutionary.”

A bruised reed shall he not break; and the smoking flax shall he not extinguish” (Isaiah 42:3).

In France, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter – FSSP – was removed from its apostolates in Valence and Montelimar, abruptly ending a trusted traditional ministry. This removal threatens a growing community of young families. Faithful priests and communities are being pushed aside, often with no public voice or defense.”

“But woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men … ” (Matthew 23:13).

These words resound with frightening clarity today. What does it mean to “shut up the kingdom of heaven?” It means to close the doors of grace by silencing the truth, by suppressing the Sacraments in their full power, by denying the faithful the liturgy that sanctified countless saints for centuries.

We are witnessing faithful priests being marginalized – not for scandal, not for sin, but for fidelity. In Germany and Belgium, bishops openly defy Catholic teaching with public blessings of same-sex couples, while those who defend the constant Magisterium are treated as the rebels. We see bishops who tolerate heresy, but cannot tolerate reverence. We see pastors punished, not for dissent, but for obedience.

The prophet Isaiah warned:

“Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil: that put darkness for light, and light for darkness: that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20).

The inversion is before our very eyes. Those who uphold the Church’s teaching are branded “rigid;” those who contradict it are called “pastoral.” We have arrived at a moment when clarity itself is considered offensive. But the truth of Christ does not change.

Does this not remind us of what George Orwell so chillingly described in 1984 – that world of “doublethink,” where words are twisted to mean their very opposite? In Orwell’s novel, war is called peace, freedom is called slavery, ignorance is called strength. Today, in our own beloved Church, we hear voices speaking  a kind of spiritual doublespeak: sin is called blessing, error is called growth, and fidelity is dismissed as rigidity. But language cannot change reality.

As Our Lord said: “Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words shall not pass” (Matthew 24:35). The Gospel is not subject to revision by any age or ideology. Truth is not elastic; it is eternal, because Truth is a Person – Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

Now is not the time for silence. When the liturgy is diminished, when doctrine is diluted, when faithful are removed, shepherds must speak. When watchmen sleep, souls are in peril.

“Watch ye, and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

May the shepherds awaken while there is still time.

My dear brothers and sisters, let us remain steadfast in Christ. Though the wolves circle and confusion spreads, the Lord is our Shepherd, and His truth cannot be silenced. Hold fast to the faith delivered once for all to the saints. Cling to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus and to the Intercession of Our Lady.

And may Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Bishop Joseph E. Strickland

Bishop Emeritus

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