His posts are shared by high-profile individuals such as Trump and are widely promoted within right-wing pockets of the U.S. Catholic Church.
Q-Anon, Anti-Vax Archbishop Charged With Schism By Pope Francis
Credit: Benhur Arcayan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
June 21, 2024

Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the disgraced former papal nuncio to the United States, announced that he has been charged with schism by the Vatican's doctrinal office, after a six-year rogue period in which he called for Pope Francis to resign and labeled him a "false prophet." Via National Catholic Reporter:

On June 20, the archbishop posted on his own website a two-page decree from the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith ordering him to appear for a trial regarding "public statements that show a denial of points necessary for the preservation of communion with the Catholic Church."

[...] In 2018, Viganò penned an 11-page letter alleging a widespread Vatican cover-up of allegations against ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and called on Francis to resign. Since then, many of the claims he alleged have been discredited, but the Italian archbishop has become something of a hero to some right-wing Catholics for his support of former U.S. President Donald Trump, opposition to the COVID-19 vaccines, spreading of Q-Anon conspiracy theories, and his outright rejection of the Second Vatican Council.

While many mainstream Catholics have dismissed the former Vatican diplomat, he has continued to use his website and social media to promote his radicalized views, with his posts being shared by high-profile individuals such as Trump and being widely promoted within certain pockets of the U.S. Catholic Church.

In the weeks following Viganò's 2018 attack against Francis, many bishops' conferences around the globe issued statements specifically denouncing the former nuncio. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops did not and more than two dozen U.S. bishops issued statements of support for Viganò at the time.

Viganò has also lavished praise on Russia as one of the last bastions of civilization, and supported the invasion of Ukraine.

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