Bishop removed by Pope Francis reacts live to announcement of Pope Leo XIV

Yesterday, smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel, signaling the election of a new pope. An hour later, the Vatican announced Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, as the next head of the Roman Catholic Church.

At the time these events were unfolding, Glenn Beck was interviewing Bishop Joseph Strickland, who was removed from office by Pope Francis after he came out publicly against him for diverting from the Catholic faith.

Before the election of Cardinal Prevost, Bishop Strickland had warned that “there are wolves roaming freely in the conclave.”

Is Leo XIV one of them?

In the following interview, Bishop Strickland and Glenn react to the live announcement of Robert Prevost’s election. Bishop Strickland then shares what he knows about him.

“He was head of the congregation for bishops,” says Strickland. “He’s a relatively new cardinal.”

“Two years ago, Pope Francis chose him to replace Marc Ouellet as prefect of the Vatican’s bishops, handing him the task of selecting the next generation of bishops,” adds Glenn, reading from Prevost’s biography.

“What do you know — good guy, bad guy? Any clue?” he asks, noting that Prevost’s past is “clouded by allegations of covering up sexual abuse claims,” although these “were denied by his diocese.”

“As head of the congregation for bishops, frankly, in my opinion he made some really bad choices,” says Strickland. “Of course, it was Pope Francis, but [Prevost] was involved in naming bishops that I find very troubling.”

Strickland also notes that Prevost’s chosen name — Leo XIV — is an interesting choice.

“The predecessor, Leo XIII — he had visions of evil taking the church, and the St. Michael prayer, the archangel prayer, came from Leo XIII. … He was good, and he was strong in a lot of ways,” he says, calling Prevost’s choice of name “significant.”

The best thing we can do, he says, is “keep praying.”

To hear more of his thoughts on Pope Leo XIV, watch the episode above.

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