By Sheryl Collmer, Crisis Magazine, Nov. 17, 2023
Sheryl Collmer is an independent consultant for several non-profit organizations. She holds a Master’s in Theological Studies from the University of Dallas, as well as an MBA. From her home in the diocese of Tyler, Texas, she studies homesteading, history, and the currents in the Church.
Many of us heard the voice of a shepherd in Bishop Strickland and moved to Tyler, Texas in response. It’s a gut punch to lose him now.
When the Cathedral bells swung five minutes before Mass last weekend, they seemed to know. The Ave sung with the Rosary was so mournful, you’d think someone had died. A light went out in Tyler on Saturday.
The seat of the bishop is empty; the coat of arms will be replaced. We have all been dealt a blow that fails in justice, compassion, and charity. The loss of a bishop always hammers the people, but the loss is usually to death, which can still be celebrated. This loss is unmitigated.
Our Protestant friends in Tyler have been following the disturbing events since the Apostolic Visitation in June, and we all received calls and texts from them on Saturday. Bishop Strickland is honored in this mostly-Baptist town as a true follower of Jesus Christ. …..
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