ROME — The Vatican has excommunicated its former ambassador to the United States, Archbishop Carlo María Vigano, after declaring him guilty of schism, an inevitable end for the conservative firebrand who became one of the Pope Francisco ‘the most ardent critics and a symbol of the polarized Catholic Church in the United States and beyond.
The Vatican’s doctrinal office imposed the sentence after a meeting of its members on Thursday and informed Vigano of its decision on Friday, according to a news release.
He cited Viganó’s “refusal to recognize and submit to the Supreme Pontiff, his rejection of communion with the members of the Church subject to him, and the legitimacy and magisterial authority of the Second Vatican Council.”
The excommunication from the Vatican means that Vigano is formally outside the Church, and cannot celebrate or receive its sacraments, for having committed one of the most serious crimes of canon law: schism. A schism occurs when someone withdraws submission to the Pope or the communion of Catholics who are subject to him.
It is considered particularly dangerous for the faith because it threatens the unity of the church, which is based on obedience to the Pope. And Vigano had built a following of like-minded conservatives and traditionalists over the years as he delved deeper and deeper into conspiracy theories about everything from the coronavirus pandemic to what he called the “Great Reset” and other fringe ideas.
His dire pronouncements on the current state of the Catholic Church, amplified on Catholic social media sites and by ideologically friendly bloggers on both sides of the Atlantic, were an exaggerated version of the chasm between American ultraconservatives and Francis. While the Italian prelate enjoyed widespread support among conservative bishops at the beginning of his public career, many distanced themselves as his ideas became increasingly extreme.
Vigano, who has not been seen publicly since before 2018, knew the declaration of schism would occur after the Vatican informed him it was launching criminal proceedings against him last month. He called it defiant “an honor” and refused to appear personally or in writing to defend himself.
Vigano issued a lengthy public statement last month justifying his conduct and refusing to recognize the authority of the Vatican’s doctrinal office “which seeks to judge me, nor of his prefect, nor of whoever appointed him.”
But he did not respond directly to Friday’s schism statement on X, his usual forum. About an hour before the Vatican decree was made public, he announced that he would celebrate a mass on Friday for those who supported him and asked for donations.
Vigano first came to public consciousness in 2012, during the first Vatileaks scandal, when Pope Benedict XVI’s butler leaked the pontiff’s private documents to an Italian journalist to try to draw attention to corruption in the Holy See.
In some of the leaked letters, Vigano, then number two in the administration of Vatican City State, pleaded with the Pope not to be transferred after exposing corruption in the awarding of Vatican contracts that cost the Holy See millions. of euros (dollars).
The pleas did not work: by the time the letters were published, Benedict had transferred Vigano to be the Vatican’s ambassador to the United States, certainly a prestigious position but one that took him far from Rome and out of the running to one day be a cardinal.
Vigano reappeared on the scene during Francis’ visit to the United States in 2015, which as nuncio Vigano helped organize. Everything was going well until Vigano arranged for Kim Davis, a Kentucky employee at the center of the gay marriage debate in the United States, to be among a small group of people at the Vatican residence to greet Francis.
Davis had gained fame for refusing to issue all marriage licenses rather than being forced to issue licenses to same-sex couples. She became a hero for America’s conservative right, with whom Vigano had increasingly identified during the American culture wars over gay marriage and religious freedom issues.
Once the visit was over, Davis and his lawyers stated that the meeting with Francisco amounted to an affirmation of their cause. The Vatican later He turned that statement around. when he released images of what he said was the “only” private audience Francis had in Washington: with a small group of people that included a gay couple.
Vigano’s deception in inviting Davis to meet with the Pope, who had wanted to stay away from America’s culture wars during his visit, seemed to set the two on what would become a collision course that exploded in August 2018.
At the time, the American Church was reeling from a new chapter in its clergy sexual abuse scandal: one of the highest-ranking American clerics, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, had been accused of sexually abusing a minor and A Pennsylvania grand jury had launched a devastating investigation into decades of abuse and cover-up.
As Francis wrapped up a tense visit to Ireland, Vigano published an 11-page article accusing him and decades of U.S. and Vatican officials of covering up for McCarrick. Specifically, Vigano accused Francis of rehabilitating McCarrick from the sanctions imposed by Benedict and asked him to resign.
The accusations were explosive and helped create the the biggest crisis of Francis’ then young pontificate.
Francis quickly authorized an internal investigation to determine who knew what and when about McCarrick’s penchant for sleeping with his seminarians.
The report, published in 2020, confirmed that a generation of church officials, including Pope John Paul II, had closed eyes to McCarrick’s misconduct. He largely saved Francis, who finally expelled the ecclesiastic.
But the report also faulted Vigano for failing to investigate new claims against McCarrick or enforce Vatican restrictions when the Vatican specifically ordered him to do so.
At that point, Vigano’s claims against Francisco began to become more unhinged. He endorsed conspiracy theories about coronavirus vaccines, appeared at far-right political rallies in the United States, backed Russia in its war and ultimately refused to recognize Francis as pope.
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