Bishop Joseph Strickland, the former bishop of Tyler, Texas, commended Pope Francis for being an instrument for peace, telling Newsmax on Saturday that continuing his efforts to strike peace in the world are “what we need to be doing.”

Strickland was removed from his post by Pope Francis last year after being an outspoken critic of the pontiff.

Strickland joined Newsmax’s live coverage of the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday in Rome, marked by the meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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