ROME — Former Vatican emissary Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano has refused to obey a summons to the Vatican to face charges of schism, restating he does not recognize Pope Francis as the head of the Catholic Church.
“As I stated in my Communiqué of June 20, I do not recognize the authority of the tribunal that claims to judge me, nor of its Prefect, nor of the one who appointed him,” Archbishop Viganò said in a statement.
“This decision of mine, which is certainly painful, is not the result of haste or a spirit of rebellion; but rather is dictated by the moral necessity which, as Bishop and Successor of the Apostles, obliges me in conscience to bear witness to the Truth, that is, to God Himself, to Our Lord Jesus Christ,” he declared.
Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Viganò as Apostolic Nuncio to the United States in 2011 and the archbishop served in this role for five years, from 2011 to 2016.
Viganò became something of a conservative superstar in 2018, when he published an explosive report accusing Pope Francis of reinstating homosexual abuser Cardinal Theodore McCarrick to a position of prominence despite knowing of McCarrick’s serial abuse.
