“Bergoglio, an uncontrolled tyrant” –

Mary Constantine

July 10, 2024

A few days ago, the very harsh sentence of excommunication of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, accused of schism by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Yesterday, a new position was taken by the former Nuncio to the United States, who continues to attack Pope Francis and his ministry within the Catholic Church. Excluded from the communion of the faithful, Viganò continues to seek support among dissidents through a series of posts published on his social media channels, but his attempt to create a parallel and independent church, attracting new ranks of believers, might fail. The archbishop, in fact, will soon be reduced to the lay state, a process through which a priest loses his clerical status and the related sacramental powers. Dismissal from the clerical state (amissio status clericalis) – as it is defined in the new Code of Canon Law – is a disciplinary sanction that can be imposed by the Catholic Church on members of the clergy. The dismissed priest automatically loses the rights proper to the clerical state and is no longer bound by the related obligations. Furthermore, he loses his ecclesiastical dignity and duties, remaining excluded from the exercise of the sacred ministry and unable to assume leadership roles in the pastoral sphere.

Finally, he cannot teach in seminaries and other institutions where theological disciplines are taught. Despite the penalty of reduction to the lay state, one cannot speak of an ex-priest or ex-priest. In fact, canon 290 of the Code of Canon Law (CIC) establishes that, following being validly received, a holy order can never be rendered invalid. In Viganò’s case, dismissal from the clerical state would mean the loss of the title of archbishop, as well as the right to celebrate Mass, hear confessions and administer other sacraments. But his plan to create a seminary for traditionalist priests at the hermitage of Palanzana in Viterbo also seems destined for failure, although Viganò does not appear to have any intention of abandoning his role as an excommunicated leader. Yesterday, through his X profile, he once once more lashed out once morest the Pope and the “Bergoglian sect” which, according to the archbishop, “is proceeding at forced stages towards the definitive deconstruction of the Catholic Priesthood, making it superfluous in practice even without denying it in theory, and placing alongside it non-ordained ministries that can also be conferred on women and allowing lay people to preach.”

Harsh words from Viganò who predicts a “Protestantization of the Church taken to its extreme consequences”. According to the former Nuncio, “Bergoglio wants to silence every voice of dissent, pushing true Catholics to abandon the Church whose authority and name he usurps. He promotes heresy and schism with increasingly unheard-of provocations because he does not tolerate confrontations from which he would emerge irremediably defeated. He is a tyrant out of control, surrounded by accomplices and cowards”. But, while Viganò indulges in invectives once morest the Pontiff, he sees his role increasingly diminished. His excommunication and upcoming reduction to the lay state mark a critical phase, not only for him, but also for the community that follows him. Despite attempts to maintain support among dissidents and to promote a parallel church, the restrictions imposed by the Catholic Church make his path increasingly arduous.