Vatican excommunicates Archbishop Vigano for refusing to accept the Pope

Vigano’s sentence shows that Francis, who has faced conservative criticism since the beginning of his papacy, is losing patience with his sharpest critics in the church hierarchy, who have at times criticized him in surprising and insulting terms. Papal authority is challenged. It’s also indicative of how over the years Vigano has turned from a critic of the Pope and the Church’s shortcomings in dealing with clerical abuse into a peripheral conservative firebrand who has embraced conspiracy theories and most recently a post by Rep. Marjorie Retweeted. Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) claimed that “COVID vaccines are killing people.”

The Vatican’s decision came close to its disciplinary framework, after the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued an appropriate decree on June 20, placing the senior cleric at risk of a punitive canon trial for “crimes of heresy” and “denial of the validity of canons.” Was handed over. Pope Francis.”

“His public statements that refuse to recognize and submit to the Supreme Pontiff, his rejection of communion with members of the Church subject to him, and his rejection of the validity and magisterial authority of the Second Vatican Council are well known,” the Dicastery said. The principles of religion mentioned in the comment. “At the conclusion of the sentencing process, the Most Reverend Carlo Maria Vigano was found guilty of the reserved crime of heresy.”

The Vatican’s abstract decisions can only be undone through a decision of the Pope or the Dicastery on the doctrine of the faith that appears in their title. The excommunication means Viganò cannot formally receive Catholic sacraments including Communion, ordain priests or substitute for Pyle.

Experts say he does not immediately lose his clerical name, although one of these steps – called defrocking – may only apply if he is deemed unrepentant. For example, in 2006, the Vatican under Pope Benedict XVI excommunicated Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo of Zambia, who married a South Korean acupuncturist in a ritual within the Unification Church of Solar Myung Moon, performing an unauthorized exorcism and established a movement for married clergy. After about 3 years, she was defrocked once.

That step was almost certainly no longer taken “in the hope that (Vigano) might repent,” said David Cito, a canon lawyer and deputy rector at the Pontifical College of the Holy See in Rome.

For Vigano, repentance, at least for now, is not going away. The 83-year-old Italian priest also did not appear at his personal trial, arguing that he did not accept the authority of Francis or Vatican officials under him to hold him accountable. On Friday, he posted on Twitter that, as he does every year, he would call for supporters to rally in defiance of the Vatican’s decision. He frequently asked for “donations” for his Exarchate Domine Futing, which is providing “traditional education” to six seminarians, he said.

The crime of schism is outlined as a break with the “unity” of the Church under the Pope. The Vatican cited statements by Vigano’s society that the experience resulted in a “denial of the elements necessary to maintain communion with the Catholic Church”, in addition to the “legitimacy” of Francis and the reforms undertaken through the Second Vatican Council. Also rejected. the sixties.

Despite the fact that church code requires clerical allegiance, Francis has largely tolerated dissent for years. On the other hand, this is beginning to change, especially since the Pope last year appointed Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez – a fellow Argentine and an established best friend of Francis – as the new head of the Vatican’s disciplinary branch. Did.

Since Fernandez’s appointment in late summer, the Holy See has acted more quickly to secure a pope. Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, a major critic of Francis, was removed from his diocese, plus another longtime critic, American Cardinal Raymond Burke, lost his pension and Rome rent.

Some critics of the Pope, despite the fact that Vigano was once in his personal league.

He was recalled as US ambassador or Apostolic Nuncio in 2016 amid allegations that he was caught up in the political battle against gay marriage. Nearly two years later, she made headlines with a blistering letter that aimed directly at the church’s vulnerability — documenting its handling of sexual abuse situations — accusing Francis of misconduct. He claimed that Francis had ignored early threats regarding Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, DC, who recently resigned from the Faculty of Cardinals.

Three weeks before the Vatican announced Vigano’s trial, he revealed new allegations against Axe and claimed that Francis had committed “similar abuses” to McCarrick while serving in a senior church office in Argentina. He once again presented evidence of denial.

Viganò appears to have stepped up his messages after the December decision, approved by Francis, to allow Catholic priests to offer the community’s blessing to same-sex relationships. He referenced the verdict in his lengthy response to the lawsuit, writing, “Bergoglio authorizes the blessing of same-sex couples and imposes acceptance of homosexuality on believers, while covering up the scandals of his disciples and elevating them to the highest positions. Promotes.” responsibility.”