ROME — The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has found former papal envoy Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò guilty of “schism” and declared him excommunicated from the Catholic Church.
Viganò’s “refusal to recognize and obey the Pope, refusing communion with members of the Church subordinate to him, and rejecting the legitimacy and pontifical authority of the Second Vatican Council are well known,” the Vatican said. statement Read.
“At the conclusion of the criminal proceedings, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò was found guilty of schism and the Vatican Latte Cententia “Excommunicated.”
Excommunication is the Catholic Church’s most severe punishment, imposed for particularly serious sins. An excommunicated person no longer belongs to the Church and is forbidden from receiving the sacraments.
Archbishop Viganò has been a thorn in Pope Francis’ side since he made statements criticizing him. report In 2018, he accused the pope of aiding serial homosexual abuser Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and named other accomplices who covered up for the now-disgraced former cardinal.
Drawing on knowledge gained from years of diplomatic work in the Holy See, Viganò denounced a “conspiracy of silence” in the McCarrick case, adding that “corruption reaches all the way to the highest levels of the Church.”
In the documents, Viganò alleges that despite personally reporting McCarrick’s crimes to Pope Francis on June 23, 2013, the pope “continued to shield him” and “made him a trusted advisor.”
In his report, Viganò criticized what he called “an errant sect of the Society of Jesus.” [Jesuits]Unfortunately, this has become the majority opinion.
Viganò said these included Father James Martin, “a well-known activist promoting the LGBT agenda and who has been chosen to corrupt the young people who will soon be gathering in Dublin for the World Meeting of Families.”
Following the Vatican’s ruling on Friday, Viganò acknowledged that he had received a copy of his guilty verdict but added that it was meant to confirm “the Catholic faith which I fully profess.”
“I say to you brother bishops: ‘If you keep silent, the stones will cry out’ (Luke 19:40),” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
