Carlo Maria Viganò

Carlo Maria Viganò was ordained a priest in 1968 and spent decades in Vatican diplomacy, becoming a bishop in 1992 under John Paul II and serving as nuncio in Nigeria. Appointed secretary general of the Vatican City Governorate in 2009, he turned a budget deficit into a surplus but complained to Pope Benedict XVI about financial corruption - two leaked letters from him triggered the 2012 Vatican leaks scandal. Transferred against his will to serve as Apostolic Nuncio to the United States from 2011 to 2016, he arranged a contentious meeting between Pope Francis and Kim Davis during the Pope's 2015 visit. In August 2018 he published an 11-page letter accusing Francis and other church leaders of concealing sexual misconduct allegations against former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, demanding the Pope resign - reactions split sharply between support and defense of Francis. After that he issued increasingly controversial statements, rejected the Second Vatican Council and the modern Mass, and in December 2023 announced plans for a traditionalist seminary outside Church control. Charged with schism in 2024, he refused to appear at trial and was excommunicated.