Transcript:
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: The punishment of Archbishop Vigano by the Holy See, in my opinion, should have been handled differently. Another approach should have been applied by the Holy See to address this problem. Archbishop Vigano should have been disciplined, but not excommunicated, I think, because there are many Cardinals and bishops who are evident heretics who must be punished for the crime of heresy, yet they are not punished. Only Archbishop Vigano is punished. This is a disproportionate measure.
Jim Havens: Hey, I’m Jim Havens, good to meet you. I host a radio show called The Simple Truth, where we pursue the good, true, and beautiful and proclaim the life-giving reality of Jesus and his Catholic Church. Stick around if you like it, give it a thumbs up, and let us know what you think in the comments below. What guidance can you give us regarding the excommunication of Archbishop Vigano? I think maybe some have followed it closely, some not so much. But most people seem to be confused about what’s really going on. It would be great to have some clarity on this. Can you share your thoughts with us?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Well, this situation is regrettable. Unfortunately, Archbishop Vigano is not correct in his opinion about the validity of the pontificate of Pope Francis.
This is a grievous error on his part. He is basically revealing himself as a sedevacantist. This means the Holy See is vacant; there is no legitimate, valid Pope. This is unacceptable. It goes against the nature of the Catholic Church, which is visible. The head of the Catholic Church must be visible. It is confusing and not consistent with tradition.
The theory of Archbishop Vigano about the invalidity of Pope Francis’s papacy does not correspond, I repeat, to the constant tradition of the Catholic Church. He quotes only one Pope, Paul IV, from the 16th century. This is not sufficient. One Pope’s opinion must be constant, repeated by the Magisterium, and incorporated in canon law or papal law. This is lacking; it does not exist. Therefore, we cannot establish such a theory on such an important issue as the validity of the papacy based only on the opinion of one Pope or some saints like Robert Bellarmine.
Even St. Robert Bellarmine’s theory about a heretical Pope was presented as five different opinions, which he admitted were opinions, not the constant teaching of the Magisterium. He even included the opinion of those who reject that a Pope could lose his office automatically or by judgment of bishops and cardinals because of heresy. So we must be very careful.
The other theory Archbishop Vigano proposes is also wrong. It is not confirmed by the constant teaching of the Magisterium or the general consent of theologians. He applies an issue of canon law about Holy Matrimony to the papacy. This is not possible. He says that when Pope Francis accepted his election 11 years ago, his consent was invalid, a kind of simulation, because he already intended to destroy the Church. But this is not serious. We cannot demonstrate it. This vicious consent was never applied to the papacy by the constant tradition of the Church. It was applied only in the process of invalidity of marriage consent, not to the acceptance of the papacy.
This is a serious error by Archbishop Vigano. Now he has revealed publicly that he does not accept the validity of the reigning Pope, whom the entire Church accepts: Pope Francis. All the Cardinals accepted him and still accept him as a valid Pope, and all the Episcopal sees in the world do too. This is strong evidence of the validity of this Pope.
So it seems what Archbishop Vigano proposes is too human a solution. It is too human. We have to leave this to Divine Providence only. Of course, we must collaborate. We can admonish the Pope as St. Paul admonished the first Pope, Peter, and St. Catherine of Siena admonished the Pope. This is legitimate to correct him, but always respectfully, with love. This is the rule in the Church. We are not a political party admonishing with irritation or bitterness. This is not the way of the Holy Spirit, nor the way to remedy the crisis in the Church.
We must repeat: we can and must admonish the Pope. We cannot follow him when he commands us to do wrong, but he remains the Pope. Archbishop Lefebvre said this too. What I just said, he repeated it in English in the United States in the 1980s. There is a video where you can hear him say this. He did not state publicly what Archbishop Vigano has stated, although maybe later he expressed some doubts. But Lefebvre never made such a public and precise statement. So, Archbishop Vigano cannot quote Archbishop Lefebvre to support his thesis. This is not correct. It is different.
So it is regrettable. We must pray for Archbishop Vigano that he may be enlightened and accept the Pope, who is the legitimate Pope. We must pray for him and that God may intervene.
Regarding the punishment of Archbishop Vigano by the Holy See, in my opinion, it should have been handled differently. Another way should have been applied to address this problem. Archbishop Vigano should be punished, but not excommunicated, because there are many Cardinals and bishops who are evident heretics who must be punished for heresy, but are not. Only Archbishop Vigano is punished. This is a disproportionate measure. This is lamentable and in some way unjust, unjust. So let us pray for Archbishop Vigano that he may recognize his human errors and erroneous approach to this crisis, and that God may illuminate the Pope and the Holy See to return to the tradition of the Catholic Church of all times.
Jim Havens: Was that a helpful video for you? I sure hope so. That’s why we do this show, to help real people get real results advancing in the way, the truth, and the life we’re made for. It’s called The Simple Truth. It’s a radio program Monday through Friday, and we live-stream it right here on this channel. Make sure to subscribe, like, and share if you would be so kind. If you liked that last video, here’s another one I think you might get a lot out of.