Archbishop Viganò Reveals Cardinal Burke Advised Him to Live in Hiding
Archbishop Viganò recounts his long career in Vatican service, argues that he was punished for exposing corruption and doctrinal problems in the Church, explains how retirement led him to reject Vatican II and the post-conciliar direction of the Church, defends himself against the charge of schism, and urges Leo XIV to break with the errors of the Francis era and the synodal project.
The letter contains a noticeably heavy use of first-person pronouns and is full of self-reference, emphasis on personal integrity, descriptions of persecution and mistreatment, frequent presentation of himself as a key witness to major events, and relatively little self-criticism: "However much I examine my actions as if I were standing before Christ the Judge at the moment of my death, I find nothing morally wrong."
The letter contains a number of noteworthy disclosures.
- He reveals that it was Cardinal Raymond Burke who advised him, after publishing the memorandum about the homosexual Cardinal Theodore McCarrick in August 2018, to live for several years in secret locations.
- He discloses that the priestly fraternity Familia Christi was “brutally destroyed and dissolved” by the current Archbishop of Ferrara, Gian Carlo Perego, and the Holy See itself. Archbishop Viganò now cares for its members.
- He writes that Francis personally imposed a series of punitive measures against him. After his retirement in 2016, Francis barred him from returning to the Vatican apartment previously assigned to him by John Paul II and also prevented him from residing in the retirement residence for former nuncios. Francis later revoked his Vatican citizenship and passport, denied him access to Vatican healthcare despite his contributions to the system, ordered the removal of his car from the Vatican vehicle registry, and blocked the renewal of his Vatican driver's licence, which he had held since 1973.
- One part of the letter concerns Pope Leo XIV's former Diocese of Chiclayo. Viganò discusses Fr. Eleuterio Vásquez Gonzales ("Padre Lute"), who has been accused of the sexual abuse of minor girls. Monsignor Viganò reiterates that the priest was dismissed from the clerical state in order to shield him from a regular canonical trial. Meanwhile, the victims' canon lawyer, Monsignor Ricardo Coronado Arrascue, was sanctioned. Viganò states that Coronado provided him with detailed documentation and a full account of the case.
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