Recent videos uploaded to YouTube have revealed that on March 20, 2025, Bishop Joseph Strickland, emeritus of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, celebrated a public Mass at Mary, Mother of the Light Maronite Catholic Church in Tequesta, Florida. The Mass was followed by a reflection delivered by Strickland and a dinner in the parish hall, marking a notable gathering of controversial Catholic figures. This event took place against a backdrop of ecclesiastical restrictions and theological disputes, as well as a highly politicized movement in the US Catholic Church that opposes Pope Francis while promoting President Donald Trump.
Event announcement, posted on parish website’s “Bulletins” page.
Among the concelebrants of the Mass was Fr. James Altman, a priest from the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin, whose removal from active ministry in July 2021 by Bishop William Callahan stemmed from a series of polarizing statements. Altman gained national prominence in August 2020 when he released a widely circulated video asserting that Catholics could not support the Democratic Party due to its stance on abortion, famously declaring, “You cannot be Catholic and be a Democrat. Period.” This type of rhetoric, coupled with his subsequent embrace of sedevacantism — a position rejecting the validity of Pope Francis’s pontificate — has positioned him as a lightning rod in Catholic circles. Altman’s sedevacantism suggests that he has incurred latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication for schism under Canon 1364 of the Code of Canon Law, although no official decree has been released to the public. There has also been no public statement from the Diocese of La Crosse indicating Altman’s reinstatement, with his out-of-ministry status reaffirmed as recently as 2023 by Bishop Carl Kemme of Wichita, where Altman spoke as part of an unauthorized “Canceled Priest” event.
Joining Strickland and Altman as concelebrants were Fr. Gary George, C.Ss.R., the pastor of the Maronite parish, and Fr. John Perez, identified as the Catholic chaplain to the West Palm Beach VA hospital. The event’s organizer, Willy Guardiola (self-styled as “Willy G”), uploaded a video to YouTube explaining the choice of venue: the Maronite church was purportedly “the only Catholic church in the state of Florida that could host Bishop Strickland because of the powers that be.” In another video, Guardiola recounted a meeting with Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito of Palm Beach, who reportedly informed him that Strickland was barred from celebrating Mass, administering sacraments, or even entering parishes across all seven Roman Catholic dioceses in Florida. (It should be noted that Guardiola’s two videos — which both feature him alone, delivering monologues addressed to John-Henry Westen of Lifesite News — were later creatively edited into an “interview” of Guardiola conducted by Westen and posted to Lifesite’s channel.)
Barbarito’s directive, if described accurately, reflects a coordinated effort by Florida’s Roman Catholic bishops to limit Strickland’s influence, likely due to his outspoken criticism of Pope Francis and his alignment with reactionary, traditionalist, and schismatic factions within the Church.
Strickland himself was removed as Bishop of Tyler in November 2023 by Pope Francis, a decision announced by the Vatican without detailed public explanation but widely linked to his vocal opposition to aspects of Francis’s papacy, including the Synod on Synodality and the pope’s approach to social and moral issues. Since his removal, Strickland has continued to speak publicly, often aligning himself with fringe and far-right Catholic causes, such as the “Catholics for Catholics” event at Mar-a-Lago, which was the primary reason for his visit to Florida. His participation in the March 20 Mass and his willingness to concelebrate with a suspended sedevacantist priest raise troubling questions about his intentions. As a canon lawyer himself, Strickland surely knows that he is courting further restrictions and sanctions from Rome. Is he deliberately defying Church authorities in order to force their hands to discipline him, so that he can further solidify his “martyr” narrative?
The liturgical musicians. (Source: YouTube screenshot.)
The choice of a Maronite Catholic church as the venue seems to be a shallow attempt to justify the illicit Mass through canonical nuance. Mary, Mother of the Light falls under the Eparchy of St. 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, potentially explaining why this event could proceed despite the apparent bans on Strickland and Altman. But the Mass celebrated by Strickland appeared to follow the contemporary Roman Rite — hymns like “Be Not Afraid” and “Here I am, Lord” accompanied by guitar and harmonica — rather than the Maronite Rite’s distinctive Syriac liturgy, raising questions about liturgical compliance and the intentions behind the event’s framing.
Altman delivers a talk after Mass. (Source: YouTube screenshot.)
Fr. Altman’s participation further complicates the narrative. Despite his suspension, he concelebrated the Mass in a white alb and purple stole, and later delivered a ten-minute address to roughly 90 attendees while wearing a cassock. His involvement contravenes the restrictions imposed by Bishop Callahan, which explicitly prohibit public preaching and limit his sacramental faculties. According to the original decree, Altman was restricted to saying Mass in private, and the only others who were permitted to be in attendance were his parents. In September 2023, Fr. Matthew Schneider posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he had spoken to Fr. Woodrow Pace, Vicar for Clergy in Altman’s diocese, who informed him that a diocesan decree prohibited Altman from presenting himself as a priest in public, including “wearing clerics in public or on YouTube videos.”
Congregation view. (Source: YouTube screenshot.)
Still, Strickland’s and Altman’s actions are not unexpected, they have built reputations for defiance of the Church and rejecting Catholic ecclesiology. They are effectively lawless radicals in a Church built on unity with the Bishop of Rome, the pope. They rejected all that long ago. But what are we to make of the priest who allowed this event to take place? Guardiola provides a hint in one of his videos, saying, “We’re the only Catholic church in the state of Florida that never closed the doors — not one day — because of COVID, going back in 2020.” Fr. Gary George is a member of the Redemptorist order and is pastor of a parish under the jurisdiction of the Maronite Church, suggesting that he answers to two ecclesiastical superiors. Unlike Strickland and Altman, who have been sanctioned (at least on paper), he seems to operate without restriction.
This collaboration raises practical questions: Did the Eparchy of St. Maron authorize the Mass, or was it an unsanctioned use of the parish? Will Bishop Mansour issue a statement about this? Will Fr. George’s Redemptorist superiors weigh in after this stunt?
In the end, this event underscores the growing boldness of clerics and organizers who seek to circumvent ecclesiastical discipline in order to advance a political and theological agenda at odds with the unity and authority of the Catholic Church. The use of a Maronite parish to stage a Roman Rite Mass — concelebrated by a bishop who was not welcome to celebrate publicly in the local Latin Rite dioceses and a suspended priest — suggests not only a disregard for canon law but also a calculated effort to exploit jurisdictional ambiguities. This coordinated act of defiance signals a troubling willingness to undermine ecclesial communion in service of ideological aims.
Featured image: YouTube screenshot.
Mike Lewis is the founding managing editor of Where Peter Is. He and Jeannie Gaffigan co-host Field Hospital, a U.S. Catholic podcast.
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