Three stories, one bishop. Joe McClane puts the week's hardest Catholic headlines to Bishop Joseph Strickland and asks what he sees: Fr. Chad Ripperger's one-year "fast" from public speaking, a Tennessee bishop dropping the St. Michael Prayer after Mass, and a new Vatican official renewing the call for women deacons after the Church has already said no. Underneath all three is the question Bishop Strickland has been asking on his podcast, If You Only Knew Him: do we actually know Jesus Christ?

WHAT JOE ASKS BISHOP STRICKLAND:
• FR. CHAD RIPPERGER — The Archdiocese of Denver says Archbishop James Golka asked the exorcist to consider a one-year fast from public speaking and interviews, and that he "readily agreed." A bishop who was himself removed from his diocese: what does he make of it, and what does obedience to a bishop ask of a priest — and of the rest of us?
• THE ST. MICHAEL PRAYER — Bishop Mark Beckman of Knoxville wrote in an October 16 letter that it is "not appropriate to add additional prayers associated with the celebration of the Mass itself," and asked parishes to stop the Prayer to St. Michael, the Prayer of St. Francis, and a prayer to the Holy Spirit before and after Mass. Why now, and what does a bishop owe people who want to pray it?
• WOMEN DEACONS — Sr. Mary Barron, named by Pope Leo XIV on October 8 as adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization and president of the Pontifical Mission Societies, has renewed her call for women deacons (Catholic Herald, Oct. 21). The Vatican's own Petrocchi commission said no in December 2025. Why does this keep coming back?
• IF YOU ONLY KNEW HIM — Bishop Strickland on his podcast, and why he thinks so much of what ails the Church comes down to Catholics who have never really met Christ.

OPENING STORY - THE ENCYCLICAL THAT FELL FROM THE SKY:
Eighty-seven years ago yesterday, on October 20, 1939, Pope Pius XII published his first encyclical, Summi Pontificatus — seven weeks into the Second World War. It condemned racism, the idolatry of the State, and the destruction of Poland, and the Nazi government stopped its printing and had the Gestapo investigate anyone caught reading it. So the French printed tens of thousands of copies and dropped them from aircraft over Germany. Joe tells the story.

SCRIPTURE (Douay-Rheims):

• Apocalypse 12:7 — "And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels."
• Ephesians 6:12 — "For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places."
• Colossians 3:11 (quoted by Pius XII in Summi Pontificatus) — "Where there is neither Gentile nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian nor Scythian, bond nor free. But Christ is all, and in all."
• John 17:3 — "Now this is eternal life: That they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

DOCUMENTS & SOURCES:

• Pope Pius XII, Summi Pontificatus (Oct. 20, 1939) — https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_20101939_summi-pontificatus.html
• Bishop Beckman's letter on prayers added to Mass (Catholic Herald, Oct. 19, 2026) — https://thecatholicherald.com/article/knoxville-bishop-asks-priests-to-stop-reciting-st-michael-prayer-during-mass
• Archdiocese of Denver statement on Fr. Ripperger — https://archden.org/archdiocese-of-denver-statement-on-fr-ripperger/
• Sr. Mary Barron renews call for women deacons (Catholic Herald, Oct. 21, 2026) — https://thecatholicherald.com/article/new-vatican-official-renews-calls-for-female-deacons
• Bishop Strickland's podcast, If You Only Knew Him — https://pillarsoffaith.net/podcasts/if-you-only-knew-him/

Please pray for Fr. Ripperger, for the priests and faithful of the Diocese of Knoxville, and for Bishop Beckman.

#BishopStrickland #FrRipperger #StMichaelPrayer #Knoxville #WomenDeacons #PiusXII #CatholicNews #TraditionalCatholic #Catholic #ACatholicTake

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