Archbishop critical of Pope Francis excommunicated for schism charge

Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano had refused to recognize and submit to the authority of the pope, the Vatican said, according to the translation of an official statement. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith met Thursday to excommunicate the 83-year-old Vigano, saying he had rejected communion with members of the Catholic church. The Dicastery added that Vigano questioned the Second Vatican Council, the landmark 1960s shift that, among other things, allowed the performance of the Mass in languages other than Latin. Vigano, on June 20, published a letter he received from the dicastery informing him of the upcoming trial. He refused to face the charges in person, saying he did not recognize the Tribunal’s authority.

Who is Vigano? The Italian archbishop served as secretary general at the Vatican’s governing office from 2009 to 2011 before he became a papal ambassador to the United States from 2011 to 2016.

What are the charges against him? Vigano criticized Pope Francis for years on social media and his blog. In 2018, he claimed that Francis knew about allegations of abuse by Theodore McCarrick, a former archbishop of Washington, D.C., and called on the pope to resign. A Vatican inquiry cleared Francis but found that the late Pope John Paul II was warned about the allegations. The Vatican removed McCarrick in 2019 after a church trial found him guilty of sexually abusing minors.

Vigano also accused Francis of representing an inclusive, immigrationist, eco-sustainable, and gay-friendly church.

Dig deeper: Listen to Kim Henderson’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about the Vatican defrocking former priest Frank Pavone late last year.