Pope Francis excommunicates popular Archbishop as he doubles down on critics

 

This is what autocrats due to control the narrative. It's the only way to push through reforms that are unwanted and unhealthy. How many times in the history of the Catholic Church have they condemned and even destroyed the most holy among them?

Vatican excommunicates far-right critic

of Pope Francis

By Ehren Wynder

Far-right Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganó once accused Pope Francis of covering up the sexual abuse scandal surrounding American ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. File Photo by Giuseppe Giglia/EPA-EFE

July 5 (UPI) -- The Vatican said Friday it excommunicated Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, a former Vatican ambassador to the United States and a staunch critic of Pope Francis.

Viganò was found guilty of schism -- meaning he has split from the church -- for refusing to recognize the authority of the pope and the liberal reforms enacted after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, according to a statement from the Vatican.

Vigano would probably say that it was the church that left him rather than the other way about.

"The Most Reverend Carlo Maria Vigano was found guilty of the reserved delict [violation of the law] of schism," the statement read.

The archbishop responded to the verdict in a post on X, where he linked to the decree that the Vatican sent him.

"What was attributed to me as guilt for my conviction is now put on record, confirming the Catholic Faith that I fully profess," his post read.

The ultra-conservative archbishop, who served as papal ambassador to Washington, D.C., from 2011 to 2016, emerged as one of Pope Francis' fiercest critics over his support of immigrants, leniency toward LGBTQ people and a pro-vaccine position.

Viganó in 2018 went into hiding after he penned a letter calling for the pope to resign and accusing him of covering up sexual abuse by American ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

He also in public statements called the pontiff a "false prophet" and a "servant of Satan."

Since then, he has aligned himself with far-right conspiracy theories criticizing COVID-19 vaccines and accusing Western "deep state" powers of igniting the war in Ukraine.

In other words, he has found the truth.

The Vatican in June charged Viganó with schism and summoned him to Rome to appear before the tribunal in charge of religious discipline, but he refused the summons, saying in a statement that he did not recognize the tribunal's authority.

"I repudiate, reject, and condemn the scandals, errors and heresies of Jorge Mario Bergoglio," he said at the time of the charges, using the Argentinian pontiff's given name.

Viganó's excommunication means he will no longer be able to observe Mass, receive or administer sacraments or hold official positions within the church. He will, however, be able to keep his title.

Pope Francis has punished other far-right opponents within the church. Last year he fired Bishop Joseph Strickland from his diocese in Tyler, Texas. Strickland was a leading voice among American conservative Catholics who criticized the liberal reforms of the Vatican.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, who accused Francis of diluting Catholic doctrine, was evicted from his Vatican-subsidized apartment last year, as well.

The pope in 2022 defrocked the Rev. Frank Pavone, leader of the anti-abortion group Priests for Life, after he was found guilty of "blasphemous communications on social media, and of persistent disobedience of the lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop," according to the Vatican.

Pavone argued he had not been properly notified of the decision, and the letter did not specify what communications or disobediences led to the decision.

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Catholic Convulsions > Archbishop Vigano called Francis a False Prophet - now charged with schism

 

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò summoned to Vatican for trial over schism charge

JUN 21, 2024 11:00 AM BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò regards the schism charges being brought against as “an honor,” which is understandable, considering that the Church has become a foremost exponent of wokeism, and has in many ways abandoned its Christian tradition, as with its relentless pandering to Islam.

Archbishop Viganò says he faces schism charges

from Vatican’s doctrinal office

National Catholic Register, June 20, 2024:

The disgraced former papal nuncio to the United States, Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, 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.”

I wonder... did he call him a false prophet, or The False Prophet? 

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.”

The decree is dated June 11 and is signed by Msgr. John Kennedy, secretary of the doctrinal office’s disciplinary section, requesting that Viganò present himself on June 20 at 15:30 to formally receive the accusation and evidence against him.

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.

In October 2021, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the then-head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops, penned a fiery response to Viganò charging him with carrying out a “political frame job” and labeling his actions as “extremely immoral.”

More recently, in 2022, Italy’s military chaplain, Archbishop Santo Marciano, published an open letter to Viganò condemning his spread of conspiracy theories.

In his June 20 blog post, Viganò said he considered the charges brought against him to be an “honor,” adding that Vatican II is a “moral and liturgical cancer of which the Bergoglian ‘synodal church’ is a necessary metastasis.”..

United Methodists Edge Toward Breakup Over LGBTQ Policies

A gay pride rainbow flag flies along with the U.S. flag in front of the Asbury United Methodist Church

in Prairie Village, Kansas on April 19, 2019. Charlie Riedel / AP

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK — There's at least one area of agreement among conservative, centrist and liberal leaders in the United Methodist Church: America's largest mainline Protestant denomination is on a path toward likely breakup over differences on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT pastors.

The differences have simmered for years, and came to a head in February at a conference in St. Louis where delegates voted 438-384 for a proposal called the Traditional Plan, which strengthens bans on LGBT-inclusive practices. A majority of U.S.-based delegates opposed that plan and favored LGBT-friendly options, but they were outvoted by U.S. conservatives teamed with most of the delegates from Methodist strongholds in Africa and the Philippines.

Many believe the vote will prompt an exodus from the church by liberal congregations that are already expressing their dissatisfaction over the move.

Some churches have raised rainbow flags in a show of LGBT solidarity. Some pastors have vowed to defy the strict rules and continue to allow gay weddings in Methodist churches. Churches are withholding dues payments to the main office in protest, and the UMC's receipts were down 20 percent in March, according to financial reports posted online.

"It's time for some kind of separation, some kind of amicable divorce," said James Howell, pastor of Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, who posted a video assailing the proposal for its "real meanness."

The UMC's nine-member Judicial Council convenes a four-day meeting in Evanston, Illinois, on Tuesday to consider legal challenges to the Traditional Plan. If the plan is upheld, it would take effect for U.S. churches on Jan. 1. If parts of it are struck down, that would likely trigger new debate at the UMC's next general conference in May 2020.

In fact, it appears that the general conference in May, 2020, will decide that a split is inevitable as a plan will be presented to do just that.

The UMC's largest church — the 22,000-member Church of the Resurrection with four locations in the Kansas City area — is among those applying financial pressure. Its lead pastor, Adam Hamilton, says his church is temporarily withholding half of the $2.5 million that it normally would have paid to the UMC's head office at this stage of the year.

"We'll ultimately pay it," Hamilton said. "But we want to show that this is the impact if our churches leave."

Hamilton is among the opponents of the Traditional Plan leading an initiative dubbed UMC-Next that seeks the best path forward for those who share their views. Clergy and activists in the alliance have met in Texas and Georgia, and a bigger meeting is planned for May 20-22 at Hamilton's megachurch.

Hamilton, in a telephone interview, said two main options are under consideration.

Under one scenario, many centrists and liberals would leave en masse to form a new denomination — a potentially complex endeavor given likely disputes over the dissolution process.

Under the other option, opponents of the Traditional Plan would stay in the UMC and resist from within, insisting on LGBT-inclusive policies and eventually convincing the conservatives that they should be the faction that leaves under what's envisioned as a financially smooth "gracious exit."

"There's a sense that some conservatives have been wanting to leave for a long time," Hamilton said. "They're tired of fighting about it."

While other mainline Protestant denominations have embraced gay-friendly practices, the UMC still bans them, though acts of defiance by pro-LGBT clergy have multiplied. Many have performed same-sex weddings; others have come out as gay or lesbian from the pulpit.

Enforcement of the bans has been inconsistent; the Traditional Plan aspires to beef up discipline against those engaged in defiance.

Traditional Plan supporter Mark Tooley, who heads a conservative Christian think tank, predicts that the UMC will split into three denominations — one for centrists, another oriented toward liberal activists and a third representing the global alliance of U.S. conservatives and their allies overseas.

"It's a question of how long it takes for that to unfold — and of who and how many go into each denomination," Tooley said. "A lot of churches will be irreparably harmed as they divide."

Scott Jones, bishop of the UMC's Houston-based Texas conference, says churchgoers in his region are divided in their views, but a majority supports the Traditional Plan's concepts.

"I have urged all of us to love each other, listen to each other and respect each other, even if we disagree," said Jones, who holds out hope that the UMC's disparate factions can preserve some form of unity.

Ann Craig of Newburgh, New York — a lesbian activist who has advocated for greater LGBT inclusion in the UMC — thinks a breakup can be avoided, though she's unsure what lies ahead.

"We expect something new to happen, but what that change should be or will be has not jelled yet," she said. "I don't think we're going to break up — it's so cumbersome to figure out a way to divorce."

The crisis is being followed closely at Methodist-affiliated theology schools based at universities with LGBT-inclusive policies. There are 13 UMC-connected theology schools around the country.

"There's a lot of turmoil and distress," said Mary Elizabeth Moore, dean of Boston University School of Theology. "We're trying to find a future that will be less destructive than where we are now."

In other words, they are trying to salvage what they can of the Methodist church before it is entirely taken over by those who are people-centered as opposed to being God-centered. 

Celebrating homosexuality in a church once dedicated to Jesus Christ is a sure way to lose God's candlestick from your presence. That means you will not find the presence of God in those churches. 

Rev 2:5 - Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

The western world resembles Sodom and Gomorrah more every day.

Kiev Proclaims Its Own Orthodox Church, Hails ‘Unification’ After Holding ‘Schismatic’ Council

©  Global Look Press

Ukraine has created an Orthodox church of its own, proclaiming “independence from Moscow.” While the majority of its hierarchs represented schismatic “churches,” Kiev authorities have hailed a supposed “unity” they have achieved.

The so-called “unity council” took place on Saturday in Kiev, with the country’s president Petro Poroshenko and other top officials in attendance. The overwhelming majority of participants represented two non-canonical entities – the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the self-styled ‘Kiev Patriarchy’ and the so-called Ukrainian autocephalous Orthodox Church. The two unrecognized entities have announced voluntary dissolution ahead of the event.

Just two hierarchs from the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchy participated in event, metropolitan bishops Simeon and Aleksandr. The Church as a whole refused to partake in the gathering, denouncing it as schismatic.

Metropolitan bishop Simeon even ran for the post of the head of the new entity, yet lost to ‘metropolitan’ Epiphany, who had been a hierarch within the unrecognized Kiev Patriarchate.

The head of the schismatic entity –self-styled ‘patriarch’ Filaret– has received the lifetime title of ‘Honorary Patriarch’ within the new structure. The title appears to be not without clout, since it’s established in the charter of the new church, which was adopted at the gathering as well.

It was not immediately clear what exact wording the document contains, since it was reportedly being actively negotiated until the last minute. The draft variant, however, which was unveiled earlier this month, made the new church fully subordinate to the Constantinople Patriarchate, regardless of all the talk about “independence.”

Constantinople has already expressed its support for the new religious entity, confirming it will recognize it officially in early January, which likely means the adopted charter suits Patriarch Bartholomew well.

The Russian Orthodox Church had, consequently, cut ties with Constantinople in the biggest split in modern Orthodox history.

The gathering, however, was swiftly denounced by the Russian Orthodox Church, which branded its decisions to be “void.”

“The non-canonical gathering … under general the guidance of a layman and the country’s head, as well as a foreigner, who doesn’t know the local language, has picked a non-canonical ‘bishop’ to become an equally non-canonical ‘primate,’” deputy head of the Moscow Patriarchate, Protoiereus Nikolay Balashov, said, adding that the whole event meant “nothing” to the Church.

A similar opinion was voiced by the Belarusian Orthodox Church – subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate – which ruled out any official contacts with the new Ukrainian entity, calling it “evidently schismatic.”

Biggest Split in Modern Orthodox History: Russian Orthodox Church Breaks Ties With Constantinople

There is certainly more of politics than religion happening here.

An extraordinary meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church is held in Moscow, on September 14, 2018. © Sputnik / Russian Orthodox Church

In the biggest rift in modern Orthodox history, the Russian Orthodox Church has cut all ties with the Constantinople Patriarchate, effectively splitting from it after it granted independence to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The Holy Synod, the governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church, has ruled that any further clerical relations with Constantinople are impossible, Metropolitan Hilarion, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s External Relations Department, told journalists, de facto announcing the breach of relations between the two churches.

“A decision about the full break of relations with the Constantinople Patriarchate has been taken at a Synod meeting” that is currently been held in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, Hilarion said, as cited by TASS.

The move comes days after the Synod of the Constantinople Patriarchate decided to eventually grant the so-called autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, thus making the clerical organization, which earlier enjoyed a broad autonomy within the Moscow Patriarchate, fully independent.

The Moscow Patriarchate also said that it would not abide by any decisions taken by Constantinople and related to the status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. “All these decisions are unlawful and canonically void,” Hilarion said, adding that “the Russian Orthodox Church does not recognize these decisions and will not follow them.”

At the same time, the Russian Church expressed its hope that “a common sense will prevail” and Constantinople will change its decision. However, it still accused the Ecumenical Patriarch of initiating the “schism.”

Kiev Pechersk Lavra

The move taken by Moscow marks arguably the greatest split in the history of the Orthodox Church since the Great Schism of 1054, which separated Catholics and Orthodox Christians, as it involves a break of communion between the biggest existing Orthodox Church – the Moscow Patriarchate – and Constantinople Patriarch, who is widely regarded as a spiritual leader of world’s Orthodox Christians, even though his status is nothing like that of the Pope in the Roman Catholic Church.

Constantinople’s decision seems to be serving the interests of the Ukrainian leadership rather than the Orthodox Christians living there. While most Orthodox clerics in Ukraine still pledge loyalty to the head of the Russian church, Patriarch Kirill, and consider themselves to be part of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kiev actively supports a schismatic force, which has been unrecognized by any other Churches until now.

This religious movement led by the former Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, who is now called Patriarch Filaret in Ukraine, has sought to gain the status of an independent Orthodox Church, “equal” to the Moscow Patriarchate, since 1990s. Meanwhile, it did not hesitate to seize Moscow Patriarchate’s churches by force.

According to TASS, 40 churches have been forcefully seized by the Kiev Patriarchate between 2014 and 2016. In the first half of 2018 alone, Ukraine witnessed 10 new attacks on Russian Orthodox Churches. Now, as Constantinople is launched a procedure of granting independence to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, such attacks might further intensify, some experts warn.