"That is totally a-scriptural. That is not what Scripture talks about. It's not Old or New Testament. It just doesn't fit."

Bishop Joseph Strickland on Pope Leo XIV's 26 August audience with the bishops of the Church of Norway, and on what he believes a bishop is obliged to say when the honest answer is no.

What makes the clip worth your ninety seconds is not the objection. It is how he frames it: "I'm sorry, you're wonderful daughters of God that God loves deeply, but you're not bishops. And I'm not going to pretend you are." Then the reason - the Church teaches by doing, and pretending is not kindness. "To twist it and distort it and try to modernize it, that is the least loving thing that any human being could do. To take the treasure and try to destroy it."

He also mentions, almost in passing, that going through Dei Verbum brought him to tears.

THE FACTS BEHIND THE CLIP
Pope Leo XIV received the bishops of the Church of Norway at the Vatican on Wednesday, 26 August 2026, and spoke to them about Christian unity and the promotion of peace and justice. The Vatican's published text is addressed "To the Bishops of the Church of Norway." The Church of Norway is Lutheran and has ordained women as bishops since 1993, when Rosemarie Kohn was consecrated Bishop of Hamar. The Vatican has not published a delegation list, so who exactly was in the room is Bishop Strickland's characterization rather than a Vatican statement. The Catholic Church does not recognize Lutheran orders.

SCRIPTURE (Douay-Rheims)
1 Timothy 3:2 - "It behoveth therefore a bishop to be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, prudent, of good behaviour, chaste, given to hospitality, a teacher."
Titus 1:5 - "For this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and shouldest ordain priests in every city, as I also appointed thee."
Jude 1:3 - "...to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints."

ALSO REFERENCED
Dei Verbum, the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, 18 November 1965.
Pope Leo XIV, To the Bishops of the Church of Norway, 26 August 2026: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2026/august/documents/20260826-chiesa-luterana-norvegia.html
Vatican News report on the audience: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-08/pope-leo-xiv-norway-lutheran-bishops-audience.html

BISHOP STRICKLAND
The Watchman's Lamp: https://pillarsoffaith.net/

THE FULL CONVERSATION
A Catholic Take, Friday 4 September 2026: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfr8nmwwmls

JOE McCLANE
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