Bishop Joseph Strickland, the former bishop of Tyler, Texas, commended Pope Francis for being an instrument for peace, telling Newsmax on Saturday that continuing his efforts to strike peace in the world are "what we need to be doing."
Strickland was removed from his post by Pope Francis last year after being an outspoken critic of the pontiff.
Strickland joined Newsmax's live coverage of the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday in Rome, marked by the meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"It is an important day for the church and for the world. And certainly the efforts for peace are what we need to be doing. And Jesus Christ is the prince of peace, as we know. And so his vicar on Earth, the Pope, needs to be a man working toward peace. And certainly Pope Francis did that," Strickland said.
Strickland also stressed the importance of the conclave to come to choose a successor.
"We mourn the death of Pope Francis, but we also are reminded in this context of the continuity of the church, what we call in the Catholic faith, apostolic succession," Strickland said. "We've had more than 200 popes, 260 something, I believe. And the reality is, they've all been men with great gifts and sinners like all of us."
He added: "Our liturgy says, beautifully, with death life is changed but not ended. And so we pray for Pope Francis as his life is changed. For us, it's a very drastic change, but it is merely a change in terms of our call to be with God in eternity.
"So Christ continues to guide us with the Holy Spirit, and we pray for Pope Francis, and we pray for the cardinals gathered there in Rome, who will send soon begin a conclave to choose the next successor of Saint Peter."
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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