Vigano is therefore hiding. Declaring him to be in schism and deserving of automatic excommunication was their attempt to ruin him.
You are aware, I believe, that Rome moves very slowly. For example, our Synod of Synodality has taken three years to do tasks that, in theory, Francis might have completed with a single stroke of the pen. But it took three years to complete? It like a council, nearly.
In the past, the Vatican has always proceeded very slowly with everything, even with matters of justice and canonical law enforcement. With the possible exception of Archbishop Vigano, they operate very slowly. They excommunicated him after accusing him of heresy and schism a few months after they thought he was becoming too much of a pain in their side. When compared to how things are often done in Rome, this happened really quickly.
In the interview, Vigano was asked about this – his ex-communication in charge of schism. And he rejects the validity of the schism claim. Of course he does. This is not news. His answer is detailed on Il Messaggero, where he said that he is not in schism, but he is trying to protect the integrity of the faith:
“Schism is a sin against the unity of the church. It occurs when a baptised person refuses to submit to the authority of the Roman Pontiff and to remain in the communion of faith and charity of the Catholic church. What happens if instead of the Pope who defends and governs the church there is someone who systematically demolishes it. The accusation of having rejected Vatican 2 has nothing to do with schism, because if anything it touches on questions of the magisterium and not of canonical discipline. The accusation is specious. There are cardinals and bishops who deny solemnly defined truths of faith without Bergoglio lifting a finger. Indeed with his applause. The anomaly is represented precisely by this Council because it was used for subversive purpose under the formal appearance of a solemn act of the Church and with the authoritativeness as well as the authority of the Pope and Council fathers. The purpose of Vatican 2 was to create the doctrinal premises, not necessarily explicit and indeed often hidden in ambiguous formulations to revolutionize the Church, protestantizing it and secularizing it, so as to be able to ferry it towards the syncretistic union of all religions. And this is the project of the Stone Cutters, the religion of ecumenical and inclusive humanity. The Second Vatican Council has spread in the Church like an affliction. He [Pope Francis] has committed the entire ecclesial body, at every level and rank, in its institutions and structures to the subversion of his divine constitution, the new Cathecism, the new code of canon law, the new mass, the new sacraments, teaching in seminaries and universities, preaching in parishes, the action of Catholic associations, religious life in convents and monasteries. Everything has been tampered with and remodelled according to the Conciliar paradigm. The results are there for all to see.”
Vigano then goes on to talk about Archbishop Lefebvre who the interviewer attacks as having set up a parallel church which is simply not true. The SSPX does not claim to be the one and only church; rather, they are embroiled in a fairly bleak and gloomy argument with the Vatican regarding doctrine, heresy, liturgy, and other related matters that has lasted for more than fifty years. However, they do not split. They have never had an official proclamation of schism. Although some SSPX members’ actions have been deemed schismatic, being schismatic does not imply being in a schism. This difference is significant.
In the mass canon, they pronounce the name of the recognized pope, and when the pope issues commands that do not contradict the deposit of faith, they genuinely follow them. Regretfully, for decades, the guidelines have frequently been at odds with faith, which tells you everything you need to know about the current situation—that is, Francis is not the issue. He’s just the problem’s natural conclusion. Furthermore, the SSPX now faces a great deal of criticism for engaging in dialogue with Rome, for acknowledging Francis as pope, and for eschewing the numerous alternative hypotheses that claim he is not legitimate.
Because their stance is to remain firm, uphold the faith, and attempt to reason with Rome, it is not shocking that they took that action or that they haven’t taken a stance on the matter. Simply put, their level of amity with Rome has changed over time in varying degrees.
(Side note: SSPX stands for ‘The Society of Saint Pius X‘ which is a canonically irregular traditionalist Catholic priestly fraternity founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.)
Archbishop Vigano questions the validity of the process that made Bergoglio, Pope Francis and mentions names (6)
Vigano is therefore hiding. Declaring him to be in schism and deserving of automatic excommunication was their attempt to ruin him.
You are aware, I believe, that Rome moves very slowly. For example, our Synod of Synodality has taken three years to do tasks that, in theory, Francis might have completed with a single stroke of the pen. But it took three years to complete? It like a council, nearly.
In the past, the Vatican has always proceeded very slowly with everything, even with matters of justice and canonical law enforcement. With the possible exception of Archbishop Vigano, they operate very slowly. They excommunicated him after accusing him of heresy and schism a few months after they thought he was becoming too much of a pain in their side. When compared to how things are often done in Rome, this happened really quickly.
In the interview, Vigano was asked about this – his ex-communication in charge of schism. And he rejects the validity of the schism claim. Of course he does. This is not news. His answer is detailed on Il Messaggero, where he said that he is not in schism, but he is trying to protect the integrity of the faith:
“Schism is a sin against the unity of the church. It occurs when a baptised person refuses to submit to the authority of the Roman Pontiff and to remain in the communion of faith and charity of the Catholic church. What happens if instead of the Pope who defends and governs the church there is someone who systematically demolishes it. The accusation of having rejected Vatican 2 has nothing to do with schism, because if anything it touches on questions of the magisterium and not of canonical discipline. The accusation is specious. There are cardinals and bishops who deny solemnly defined truths of faith without Bergoglio lifting a finger. Indeed with his applause. The anomaly is represented precisely by this Council because it was used for subversive purpose under the formal appearance of a solemn act of the Church and with the authoritativeness as well as the authority of the Pope and Council fathers. The purpose of Vatican 2 was to create the doctrinal premises, not necessarily explicit and indeed often hidden in ambiguous formulations to revolutionize the Church, protestantizing it and secularizing it, so as to be able to ferry it towards the syncretistic union of all religions. And this is the project of the Stone Cutters, the religion of ecumenical and inclusive humanity. The Second Vatican Council has spread in the Church like an affliction. He [Pope Francis] has committed the entire ecclesial body, at every level and rank, in its institutions and structures to the subversion of his divine constitution, the new Cathecism, the new code of canon law, the new mass, the new sacraments, teaching in seminaries and universities, preaching in parishes, the action of Catholic associations, religious life in convents and monasteries. Everything has been tampered with and remodelled according to the Conciliar paradigm. The results are there for all to see.”
Vigano then goes on to talk about Archbishop Lefebvre who the interviewer attacks as having set up a parallel church which is simply not true. The SSPX does not claim to be the one and only church; rather, they are embroiled in a fairly bleak and gloomy argument with the Vatican regarding doctrine, heresy, liturgy, and other related matters that has lasted for more than fifty years. However, they do not split. They have never had an official proclamation of schism. Although some SSPX members’ actions have been deemed schismatic, being schismatic does not imply being in a schism. This difference is significant.
In the mass canon, they pronounce the name of the recognized pope, and when the pope issues commands that do not contradict the deposit of faith, they genuinely follow them. Regretfully, for decades, the guidelines have frequently been at odds with faith, which tells you everything you need to know about the current situation—that is, Francis is not the issue. He’s just the problem’s natural conclusion. Furthermore, the SSPX now faces a great deal of criticism for engaging in dialogue with Rome, for acknowledging Francis as pope, and for eschewing the numerous alternative hypotheses that claim he is not legitimate.
Because their stance is to remain firm, uphold the faith, and attempt to reason with Rome, it is not shocking that they took that action or that they haven’t taken a stance on the matter. Simply put, their level of amity with Rome has changed over time in varying degrees.
(Side note: SSPX stands for ‘The Society of Saint Pius X‘ which is a canonically irregular traditionalist Catholic priestly fraternity founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.)