Bishop Joseph Strickland did not always have a difficult relationship with Pope Francis. When Francis became the head of the Catholic Church, Strickland recalls admiring how welcoming the pope was. But as the pontiff began taking increasingly liberal stances, the bishop of Tyler, Texas, felt he could no longer stay silent.

As Strickland began speaking out about Francis’ teachings, from the church’s positions towards divorcees and LGBTQ+ people to the question of whether priests should be allowed to marry, he quickly realized that “Politically, I was in a rather precarious position.”

“There’s just a lot of politics in the world and it’s a reality that affects the church as well,” the bishop told Newsweek in an interview. Although he said…