The Pope just excommunicated a Trump-loving, anti-LGBTQ+ priest

Pope Francis, head of the worldwide Catholic Church, recently excommunicated Carlo Maria Viganò, a virulently anti-LGBTQ+ U.S. archbishop who denied the pontiff’s authority and spent years publicly attacking him.

Viganò, a religious ultra-conservative who has also been a vocal supporter of former president Donald Trump, served as the Vatican’s top diplomat to Washington D.C. from 2011 to 2016.

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Catholic archbishop accuses Ukraine president of promoting “LGBTQ ideology”

The accusation was part of a rambling pro-Russia rant about the “deep state.”

Last month, Archbishop Viganò was formally accused of schism, “the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him,” according to the Vatican. The violation is one of the most serious offenses in Catholic canon law.

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Viganò has called Francis a “false prophet” and a “servant of Satan” and espoused conspiracy theories centered on the COVID-19 pandemic, the “deep state”, and an “orchestrated media narrative” targeting the 45th president.

The disgraced priest’s activist agenda focused on Francis’ LGBTQ+ outreach and his own toxic views on homosexuality.

In 2020, Viganò accused Francis of heresy and corruption, blaming a “gay lobby” and gay priests for their “widespread” influence on the pontiff.

“For Bergoglio [Pope Francis] and his entourage, sodomy is not a sin that cries out for vengeance in the presence of God, as the Catechism teaches,” Viganò said of the Pope, referring to him by his given name.

In 2022, the archbishop accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of promoting “LGBTQ ideology.”

“Zelensky’s performances in drag are perfectly consistent with the LGBTQ ideology that is considered by its European sponsors as an indispensable requirement of the ‘reform’ agenda that every country ought to embrace, along with gender equality, abortion, and the green economy,” Viganò wrote in a 10,000-word screed.

Years earlier, Viganò used his position as papal nuncio to promote his anti-LGBTQ+ views during Francis’ 2015 visit to the U.S., arranging for Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis to join a reception for the Pope. The Vatican later said Davis was not included in the private audience that day, while a gay couple was.

After years of Viganò’s provocations, the Vatican finally had enough.

“His public statements manifesting his refusal to recognize and submit to the Supreme Pontiff, his rejection of communion with the members of the Church subject to him, and of the legitimacy and magisterial authority of the Second Vatican Council are well known,” the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said in a press release.

The Catholic governing body confirmed that Vigano was found guilty and excommunicated, citing more than a dozen instances in which Viganò had criticized or repudiated Francis or challenged the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

The ruling in absentia comes after Viganò defied a Vatican summons to appear before the Dicastery to face charges of schism last week.

With excommunication, Viganò keeps his title, but won’t be allowed to celebrate Mass, receive or administer sacraments, or hold official positions within the church’s hierarchy.

In a lengthy statement last month, Vigano called it “an honor” to be accused. 

“On the day on which I was supposed to present myself to defend myself before the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith, I have decided to make public this declaration of mine, to which I add a denunciation of my accusers, their ‘council,’ and their ‘pope,’” he wrote.

In the letter, Viganò attacked the Church under Francis’ leadership for being “inclusive, immigrationist, eco-sustainable, and gay-friendly.”

Viganò’s biggest public clash with the Pope came in 2018 when he accused Francis of complicity in the sexual misconduct case of U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Viganò said the pontiff was covering for McCarrick and called on him to resign.

A Vatican report in 2020 faulted Viganò for ignoring new allegations against McCarrick and not enforcing Vatican restrictions on him when ordered to do so, according the Associated Press.

Today, Viganò was back on X denouncing the blessing of a “pair of sodomites” in Italy who’ve expressed their desire to adopt a child. Viganò compared the minutes it would take to bless the “two unfortunates” to the “eternity” they “will spend in the flames of hell” along with Church officials.

We learn from the press that next September 14 (on the feast day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross) a homosexual activist couple will be 'blessed' in Fano, who have also expressed their wish to adopt a child. The rite will be celebrated by Fr. Giuseppe Cavoli, head of the… pic.twitter.com/Yj2vn0AOJB

— Arcivescovo Carlo Maria Viganò (@CarloMVigano) July 8, 2024

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