Viganò’s Critique of Pope Francis: A Traditionalist’s Response to Papal Legacy and Church Integrity

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s fierce condemnation of Pope Francis following the pontiff’s death has ignited a firestorm in Catholic circles. The excommunicated traditionalist bishop has accused the late pope of usurping the throne of St. Peter, supporting globalist agendas, and destroying the foundations of the Catholic faith, revealing the deepening chasm between traditionalists and progressives within the Church.

Excommunicated Archbishop Unleashes Scathing Critique of Pope Francis

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, once a respected Vatican diplomat, has released a blistering statement following Pope Francis’s death that accuses the pontiff of numerous transgressions against Catholic doctrine and tradition. The archbishop was formally excommunicated in July 2024 after years of increasingly vocal opposition to Francis’s papacy, which he claimed promoted dangerous ideologies including open borders, socialism, and alignment with globalist organizations like the World Economic Forum.

Viganò’s critique represents a continuation of his long-standing crusade against what he perceives as the dismantling of traditional Catholic values under Francis’s leadership. His statement references a controversial 2018 report by journalist Eugenio Scalfari claiming Pope Francis denied the existence of hell, which Viganò labeled as heretical and contradictory to fundamental Catholic teaching.

Traditionalist Resistance to the Vatican’s Progressive Direction

The conflict between Viganò and Pope Francis exemplifies the broader tension between traditionalist Catholics and the Church’s more progressive elements that gained influence under Francis’s papacy. Viganò has consistently characterized Vatican II as a “cancer” and referred to Francis by his birth name, “Bergoglio,” rather than his papal title, signaling his rejection of Francis’s legitimacy as pope.

Before his excommunication, Viganò faced formal charges of schism from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s doctrinal watchdog. The archbishop’s response was not conciliation but further inflammatory rhetoric, doubling down on his accusations that Francis had betrayed the Church’s teachings and aligned with secular progressive agendas.

The Legacy and Future of Church Leadership

Viganò’s latest missive serves as a warning to Cardinals who supported Francis’s vision, placing responsibility on them for the future direction of the Church as a new conclave approaches. The archbishop’s fall from grace stands in stark contrast to his previously respected career, with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, noting: “I always appreciated him as a great worker, very faithful to the Holy See, in a certain sense also an example.”

“In 2018, Eugenio Scalfari reported the words that Bergoglio supposedly confided to him about his vision of the afterlife: ‘Sinful souls are not punished: those who repent obtain God’s forgiveness and join the ranks of souls who contemplate him, but those who do not repent and cannot therefore be forgiven disappear. There is no hell; sinful souls simply disappear.”

The conflict highlights fundamental questions about the Church’s identity in the modern world and who determines authentic Catholic teaching. Traditionalists view Viganò as a courageous defender of timeless truth. At the same time, supporters of Francis’s reforms see the archbishop as a divisive figure whose actions threaten the unity that has defined Catholicism for centuries

Sources:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/04/he-will-have-account-crimes-he-has-committed/

https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/archbishop-vigano-5-things-to-consider

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