Carlo Maria Vigano has been excommunicated by the Vatican after being found guilty of schism, one of the gravest crimes in canon law which occurs when someone withdraws submission to the Pope or his Catholic subjects. Vigano served as the Vatican’s ambassador to the US from 2011 to 2016 and went into hiding in 2018 after alleging Pope Francis knew about US cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s sexual misconduct and did nothing about it, a claim rejected by the Vatican. Vigano branded the Pope a “false prophet” and a “servant of Satan”, before calling for his resignation.
The Vatican’s doctrinal office announced the 83-year-old’s excommunication on Friday, stating that he refused to recognise and submit to the head of the Roman Catholic Church. The excommunication means Vigano is formally outside the church and cannot celebrate or receive its sacraments, such as communion. As is normal, the ruling was signed by the head of the Doctrine of the Faith office instead of the Pope himself, but it’s highly unlikely the punishment was given without his approval.
Responding on X, where he has frequently posted while in hiding, Vigano remained unrepentant and urged Catholics to support him with a quote from Jesus in the New Testament: “If they keep quiet, the stones themselves will start shouting.” Vigano has cultivated a following of like-minded ultra-conservatives over the years, delving into conspiracy theories and labelling the coronavirus pandemic the “Great Reset. In a post on X last month, he criticised the Vatican’s proceedings against him and accused Pope Francis of representing an “inclusive, immigrationist, eco-sustainable, and gay-friendly” church.