Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, one of Pope Francis’ most outspoken critics, has been excommunicated by the Vatican, finding him guilty of causing a schism in the Church, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Doctrine announced on July 5.
The 83-year-old ultra-conservative, who in the past called on Pope Francis to step down as pope, has been on trial internally at the Vatican since June after the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith accused him of the crime of schism – splitting the Catholic Church.
“His public statements indicating his refusal to recognize and submit to the Supreme Pontiff, his refusal to communicate with members of the Church under his authority, and his denial of the legitimacy and authority of the Second Vatican Council are well known.”the dicastery said in a statement.
“At the conclusion of the criminal proceedings, Msgr. Carlo Maria Viganò was found guilty of the special crime of schism.”the document says, and his punishment was “excommunication” in accordance with canon law.
An excommunicated Catholic is deprived of the right to administer and receive the sacraments and to exercise ecclesiastical functions in accordance with canon law.
Viganò, who served as the Vatican’s papal envoy to the United States from 2011 to 2016 and enjoys the support of the ultra-conservative American church faction, has openly criticized Pope Francis and even accused him of heresy.
Announcing last month that he had been summoned to the powerful dicastery charged with defending Catholic teaching, the retired archbishop wrote on social media X: “I consider the charges against me to be an honour.”.
He did not appear in person before the court, which tried him in absentia.
In a multi-page statement, Viganò criticized Pope Francis’ policies toward illegal immigrants, his “crazy encyclicals” on climate change and allowing blessings for same-sex couples, and accused him of promoting his allies.
“I accuse Jorge Mario Bergoglio of heresy and schism and ask that he be judged as a heretic and schismatic and removed from the throne he unworthily occupied for more than eleven years.”he wrote last month, using the secular name of the Argentine Pope.
Viganò maintains contact with staunch traditionalists within the Church, especially in the United States, who have fought against Francis’ more progressive measures on liturgical and social issues such as the Latin Mass or the acceptance of LGBTQ people in the Church.
Accused of sowing discord and failing to uphold core Catholic beliefs, Francis’ legitimacy as leader of the world’s 1.3 million Catholics has at times been questioned, raising fears of a schism within the Church.
In 2018, Viganò made headlines by calling for Pope Francis to resign and publishing a scathing list of accusations against the pontiff over his handling of sexual abuse cases in the Church.
In particular, Viganò accused Francis of long protecting former American Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was defrocked a year later for sexually assaulting a minor.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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