(LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Joseph Strickland’s successor for the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, Bishop John Gregory Kelly, has a history of siding with heterodox prelates on major issues such as giving Communion to pro-abortion politicians and mass immigration.
In 2021, Kelly, who was tapped to lead the Diocese of Tyler last week, was among the 68 bishops who wanted to delay the vote by U.S. bishops on denying pro-abortion Catholics Holy Communion. This was seen by many as an attempt to stall the decision to ban pro-abortion Catholic politicians such as Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi from receiving the Eucharist. Among the signatories were several heterodox bishops, including Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., and Bishop (now Cardinal) Robert McElroy of San Diego.
In addition to praising Francis in 2015 when appointed auxiliary bishop, in 2017 Kelly expressed his pro-immigration stance, sharing a statement by Cupich, who lamented President Donald Trump’s decision to temporarily close the border to immigrants from Muslim-majority countries via executive order. On December 10, 2017, Kelly posted the following on Twitter (now X): “Pope Francis has given four words to guide our response to immigrants: welcome, protect, promote, integrate. DACA recipients deserve this response from us. They belong to us: our families, parishes, schools, military. This is their home.”
Also in 2017, he shared an America Magazine article that cited Cardinal Timothy Dolan calling Steve Bannon’s comments on the U.S. bishops “insulting” and “ridiculous.” Bannon had criticized the U.S. bishops’ position and accused the bishops of supporting immigration out of “economic interest.”
“They need illegal aliens to fill the churches. That’s – it’s obvious on the face of it,” Bannon said in an interview at the time. “They have an economic interest. They have an economic interest in unlimited immigration, unlimited illegal immigration.”
Kelly approvingly cited Dolan’s statement that “Our pro-immigration stance is based on fidelity to God’s word and honors the American dream.”