Vatican expels Archbishop Carlomaria Viganò
The Vatican has expelled Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who called Pope Francis a servant of the devil.
Carlo Maria served as the Vatican's ambassador to the United States from 2011 to 2016, but was suspended in 2018 after he alleged that Pope Francis knew about the sexual misconduct of American Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and did nothing about it.
He has also previously called Pope Francis a false prophet and servant of Satan and called for his resignation. Carlo Maria had built a following for himself after criticizing the Catholic Church's efforts to modernize and address coronavirus conspiracy theories, but was excommunicated by the Vatican after being found guilty of causing division in the church.
The Vatican's doctrinal office issued a statement on Friday about the excommunication, or banishment, of Carlo Maria, 83. The statement said his previous comments had clearly shown that he had refused to recognize and submit to the head of the Roman Catholic Church. This means that Viganò is officially outside the Church and cannot celebrate its sacraments, such as the Eucharist, or receive alms.
