On March 20, 2025, a seemingly ordinary liturgical celebration shook the foundations of ecclesial communion. At Mary, Mother of the Light, a Maronite church in Tequesta, Florida, Bishop Joseph Strickland, the former bishop of Tyler, Texas, presided over a public Mass alongside controversial priests, including Fr. James Altman, who has been suspended by his Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin, since 2021. This act is perceived as a provocation toward Roman authority, occurring in a climate of growing tensions between certain traditionalist circles and the Holy See.
Marginal Figures Seeking Visibility
Bishop Strickland, removed by Pope Francis in November 2023 for his hostile positions toward the Synod on Synodality, embodies a reactionary fringe of the American Church. His refusal to submit to the successor of Peter has been illustrated by his public support for Donald Trump, notably at a "Catholics for Catholics" event organized at Mar-a-Lago. As for Fr. Altman, his exclusion from active ministry stems from his adherence to sedevacantism, denying the legitimacy of the reigning pontiff. According to the Code of Canon Law (can. 1364), this schismatic position incurs a latae sententiae excommunication, although no public decree has been issued.
A Questionable Canonical Strategy
The event's organizer, Willy Guardiola, justified the choice of the Maronite church—which falls under the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn—by citing a "total ban" from the Latin-rite bishops of Florida against Bishop Strickland. According to his statements, Bishop Barbarito (Palm Beach) had forbidden the removed bishop from celebrating the sacraments or even entering Roman-rite parishes.
The choice of a Maronite Catholic church as the venue appears to be a superficial attempt to justify the illicit Mass through canonical nuances. Mary, Mother of the Light falls under the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, led by Bishop Gregory Mansour, and adheres to the Maronite rite, an Eastern Catholic tradition with its own liturgical rites and governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. Unlike the Roman-rite dioceses of Florida, the Maronite eparchy operates independently of the state's Latin-rite bishops, which potentially explains why this event could take place despite the apparent prohibitions against Strickland and Altman. However, the Mass celebrated by Strickland appeared to follow the contemporary Roman rite—with hymns like "Be Not Afraid" and "Here I Am, Lord" accompanied by guitar and harmonica—rather than the distinctive Syriac liturgy of the Maronite rite, raising questions about liturgical conformity and the intentions behind the event's setting.
Fr. Altman, theoretically confined to private Masses without public priestly vestments, violated his restrictions by concelebrating in an alb and purple stole, then delivering an address in a cassock before an assembly of about a hundred people. This was an open act of defiance toward his diocesan bishop, who had reiterated the prohibition of any public pastoral activity in 2023.
The Troubling Role of a Maronite Parish
Fr. Gary George, a Redemptorist priest and pastor of the host parish, operates under dual jurisdiction: the Maronite eparchy and his religious congregation. No sanctions have been levied against him, despite his facilitating role. It remains to be seen whether Bishop Mansour (Brooklyn) or the Redemptorist superiors will respond to this misuse of the premises.
This Mass, beyond liturgical or disciplinary quarrels, symbolizes a troubling drift: the instrumentalization of canonical fractures to serve a politico-religious agenda hostile to the pontifical magisterium. By allying with suspended clerics and disregarding episcopal prohibitions, the organizers undermine the unity of the Church, preferring media confrontation to hierarchical communion.
While Bishop Strickland, a canonist by training, knows the risks involved—strengthened sanctions, increased isolation—his gesture appears calculated to fuel a narrative of "persecution," appealing to a militant minority. But at what cost? The Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, cannot be reduced to an ideological battlefield. "That they may all be one" (Jn 17:21): this evangelical imperative reminds us that true fidelity passes through obedience, even in trial.