While acknowledging Viganò's public opposition as "irreverent and disrespectful", Schneider cautioned that the act of excommunication could potentially deepen the existing divisions within the Church.

"I think the pope would be wise and prudent if he were not to excommunicate Archbishop Viganò" Schneider told Religion News Service. "With this act, the Holy See will increase divisions even more" he added.

Viganò faces charges of schism, which can lead to the Church excommunicating him after being summoned by the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to a trial on June 28. He dismissed the trial as "fake" and reiterated his criticism of Pope Francis and the Vatican.

In the interview, Schneider suggested that Vatican officials should seek a private dialogue with Viganò to resolve differences without resorting to judicial measures. He lamented Viganò's disrespectful language but noted that the Church was already struggling with internal divisions.

Increasingly radical statements

Viganò, formerly the papal nuncio to the United States, gained prominence in 2018 with a letter accusing Pope Francis of covering up sexual abuse by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. His subsequent statements have become increasingly radical, denouncing the Second Vatican Council, condemning COVID-19 vaccines and praising Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Viganò also claimed that Pope Francis' election was illegitimate, causing many conservative prelates to distance themselves from him.

"He is in error, because he is voicing a new theory of the probably invalid theory of Francis' illegitimate election" Schneider said.

"I think that today the church has so much internal division that it would be imprudent, even if there is some canonical ground to judge Archbishop Viganò."

In his interview, Schneider emphasised that his criticisms stem from sincere concern for the Church and the Pope. He stressed the duty of bishops to speak out when they believe the head of the Church is in error, asserting that only God is his ultimate judge.

While Pope Francis has invited dialogue and criticism, he has also acted against conservative dissenters.

Last year, Francis asked Cardinal Raymond Burke to leave his Vatican apartments and removed Bishop Joseph Strickland from his diocese in Tyler, Texas. Schneider defended Strickland, calling the accusations against him disproportionate.

Sources

Religion News Service

CathNews New Zealand

Last week, a friend called my attention to a website called "Faithful Shepherds" that was launched a year ago by LifeSiteNews.

They state that their purpose is to provide a "one-stop database" about where Catholic bishops stand on certain issues and to "encourage bishops to be faithful to Christ."

The website considers a range of issue, including homosexuality and liturgy: "Does your bishop encourage Communion on the tongue while kneeling?" is one of the questions posed.

I was glad to see that they properly labeled one category "abortion politics," although they failed to see that certainty about politics is different from certainty about morality.

The weirdest item on the list is Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò's testimony about which they ask "Has the bishop supported an investigation into Viganò's claims?

Does the bishop say his allegations are driven by ideology or are an attack on Pope Franics [sic]? Has the bishop said Viganò is a man of integrity?"

It is odd, is it not, that fidelity to Viganò has become such a calling card among these schismatics.

His screeds are so obviously a combination of score settling, innuendo and simple smearing — if you knew nothing about Viganò and nothing about the people he names and only read the texts as they are, you would be suspicious of the author.

When you find out where your bishop stands on these issues, you can click on a button to send him a postcard, thanking him for supporting the positions LifeSiteNews endorses or asking him to abandon his wayward ways.

First, you are invited to make a donation of $5 or more, and then alerted that your credit card will be charged $2 for the postcard.

You can also "do-it-yourself," as they provide an email address and phone number for each prelate as well.

"For too long, lay Catholics have been without an authoritative accountability tool for U.S. bishops, especially those who deviate from the Church's magisterium," they write.

Seeing as Francis is now the embodiment of the church's magisterium, the fact that they applaud bishops who have criticized Amoris Laetitia and denounce those who have supported it is a bit rich.

Last week, Cardinal Blase Cupich was their featured prelate.

I won't bore you with the bizarre way they frame different items on their list of complaints.

Many are tendentious in the extreme.

Others are true, but in this funhouse of extremism, what is sane is presented as heretical and what is a commonplace is considered an outrage.

I do not believe that any bishop, not even the bishop of Rome, is beyond criticism.

But what makes this Faithful Shepherds website so nefarious, and indeed what makes LifeSiteNews and other conservative outlets so nefarious these days, is that fidelity is defined as being in opposition to the pope.

They do not cite a single instance in which agreement with the pope is a mark of fidelity.

Silly me. All these years, I thought being in communion with the successor of Peter was a significant mark of Roman Catholicism. Continue reading

• Image: LifeSite

Viganò achieved this by releasing an 11-page letter accusing Pope Francis of mishandling sexual abuse claims on the final day of his visit to Ireland.

In the letter, Viganò claims Francis was aware of sexual misconduct concerns about former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and did not act on the information.

"It was on the last day of the event and we were actually flying out to Knock, the national Marian Shrine of Ireland, and we became aware of the fact that overnight in the States this news had broken.

"I have to say, personally, I was very saddened. I was saddened that this was overshadowing what was otherwise a really important celebration of family and the importance of families in the new evangelisation of the faith.

"In some ways, I felt our World Meeting of Families had been hijacked in a way by this particular letter."

Martin says he thinks Francis dealt with the matter "very quietly and with great serenity."

"You may remember that it was that morning when he arrived at the shrine in Knock, the first thing he did was he went into the shrine chapel and we had a full five minutes of silence where he was clearly, I imagine, placing this very grave situation at the feet of Our Lady and asking for her intercession and her guidance.

"There was an amazing feeling in Knock, I was there myself, to have tens of thousands of people go silent.

"What was very beautiful about that for me was the fact that the apparition of Our Lady at Knock is quite unique - when she appeared at Knock she said nothing, she was silent before the lamb, before the altar, with the presence of St Joseph and St John.

"I felt Pope Francis was entering into that silent space of contemplation. No doubt within his mind was all of this stuff swirling around about the Viganò letter, but perhaps he was placing it all at the feet of Our Lady, the Queen of Ireland and asking for her protection and her intercession."

Source

• The Tablet
• Crux Now
• Image: Vatican News