Archbishop Vigano’s Response

In response to his excommunication from the Catholic Church, the following video statement was released. To provide context, it should be noted he is speaking of Pope Francis who is part of the Jesuit order– likely the most liberal of the Catholic orders of priests:

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2 thoughts on “Archbishop Vigano’s Response”

  1. Back when your ancestors and mine were debating the gospel of Christ, it was routine for popes and others to excommunicate each other. It was supposed to be the ultimate penalty for schisms and heresies. Of course, it’s man-made so I’m not so sure it prevails beyond the grave. Popes have routinely abused the “keys” given to Peter to declare that which is bound on Earth is bound in Heaven and vice versa. They, like the rest of us mere mortals will have to answer for doing so. Calling the pope an agent of Satan is pretty bizarre and one would expect and hope that grown men, reaching the level of success as these two, would find a better way of settling their differences. Maybe we do have to be like children to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Children would never act this way.

    There are various forms of excommunication in the RC church, some more serious than others. Some are self-executing, meaning they need no third party. If I were to dishonor the host or communion wafer, take it home and feed it to my cat, for example, I would have excommunicated myself whether this was known by anyone else besides me and my cat. All clergy, including bishops, take an oath to obey the pope in matters of faith and morals as well as in administrative matters, discipline, and posts of duty. When a bishop openly opposes the pope – as this one did – the pope can excommunicate him. The church is quick to note that excommunication is not a penalty, per se, or some remedy for misbehavior but, instead, a notice to the person who is excommunicated that he needs to apologize, retract his offense and, if necessary, do penance if it was sinful.

    When Senator Ted Kennedy died some asked how Teddy managed to get a full requiem funeral mass celebrated by the Bishop of Boston. As a divorced Catholic and a strong supporter of abortion.Teddy had excommunicated himself and did not warrant a Catholic burial. All that was said about his sins was correct but the belief by the church is that actions such as excommunication that occur on Earth while a person is alive do not continue after death when, according to scripture, a person will be judged by God. Thus, because Teddy was dead, whatever he did or didn’t do while alive was no longer the concern of the church because his fate was in the hands of God.

    Excommunication was far more popular and frequent in the early days of the church when different groups would come up with their versions of the gospels and other matters of faith. All those letters from Paul to various groups were meant to keep them on the straight and narrow and he expelled or excommunicated groups and individuals who persisted in conjuring up schisms and heresies.

    I am amazed at just how frequently breakaway groups adopted heretical beliefs and customs that in some cases were supported by their local bishops. Many, perhaps most, of these died off when the leaders died and few had permanent followers but there were literally hundreds and hundreds of these groups in operation at any given time. The popes had their hands full trying to keep these renegade groups under control and sometimes their differences brought them into warring with each other. Kind of makes the 16th-century Reformation look peaceful and well-managed.

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