(LifeSiteNews) — Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the former papal representative to the United States under Pope Benedict XVI, has issued a scathing criticism of Vatican Cardinals Gerhard Müller, Robert Sarah, and Raymond Burke, urging them to support the SSPX bishop consecrations rather than try to stop them.
“Müller, Sarah, and Burke effectively constitute a controlled opposition. Their role is to contain the hemorrhage of Catholics caused by the conciliar revolution, deluding the faithful into thinking that it is possible for two opposing entities to coexist within the same institution and under the same Hierarchy: the Catholic Church and the conciliar-synodal Church,” he said.
He adds: “All three, despite criticizing it, adhere to the ‘synodal path’ out of obedience to the Pope, and Müller took an active part in the meetings of the Synod on Synodality in both 2023 and 2024, as a voting member directly appointed by Bergoglio. All three recognize episcopal collegiality, ecumenism, religious freedom, the Abu Dhabi Declaration, and in general all acts—even the most controversial—issued by the Roman Dicasteries. All three criticized Fiducia Supplicans but did not demand its revocation. All three expressed disappointment after Traditionis Custodes, without, however, committing themselves to preventing its implementation.”
Archbishop Viganò also condemns the silence of the cardinals in the face of grave problems:
READ: SSPX tells Cardinal Sarah: ‘How can we remain silent’ when salvation of souls is threatened?
1) “(A)ll three recognize Víctor Manuel Fernández as the legitimate Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, despite his ‘literary’ activity as a pornographer and heretic; nor are they known to have ever requested his resignation after the scandal of Besame con tu boca and La pasión mística.”
2) “All three did not offer a single word of support for me, either before or after the farce of the canonical proceedings that led to my ‘excommunication’ for schism.”
3) “(N)ot a single criticism has been heard from either the three Cardinals or the priests who refer to them, regarding the scandalous Doctrinal Note Mater Populi Fidelis, which declares the use of the Marian titles of Mediatrix and Co-redemptrix ‘always inappropriate.’”
As to their motives, Archbishop Viganò surmises:
It seems rather that they are simply attempting to reconcile opposing and irreconcilable theses for the sake of a quiet life or in the name of a pseudo-unity of the Church that disregards the uninterrupted profession of the same Faith, concealing the obvious divergences so as not to have to draw the necessary conclusions from their evidence.
“The calls for unity made by Müller, Sarah and Burke suffer from a fundamental error,” says Viganò. “They probably recognize the current crisis, the doctrinal, moral, and liturgical deviations of the synodal Church, but they refuse to see them as a logical and necessary effect of Vatican II, which they persist in judging, against all evidence, as entirely orthodox and consistent with the perennial Catholic Magisterium.”
Because they must stick to Vatican II, he says, they “must find a compromise that does not benefit the unity of the Church, but rather numbs all dissent in the name of a false obedience that has nothing Catholic about it. Obedience to the Hierarchy becomes misleading when it deviates from the Truth of Dogma and Tradition. Unity is not primarily institutional but doctrinal, rooted in the immutable Deposit of Faith. It is the discipline of the Church that is ordered to the preservation and transmission of the Depositum Fidei, and not vice-versa.”
The archbishop explains his characterization of the three cardinals as ‘controlled opposition’ this way:
The interventions of the three Cardinals, while presented as calls for unity, reveal profound shortcomings and internal contradictions, which cannot be ignored by those who care about the integral preservation of the Depositum Fidei. It seems to me now more than evident that this pseudo-opposition not only has no chance of achieving anything, but is actually instrumental in the completion of the conciliar revolution through the final, ill-fated step of the ‘synodal path.’
READ: John-Henry Westen: An open letter to Cardinal Sarah on the SSPX
Viganò added a call for unity of those who support tradition, with or without the Cardinals:
As one observer has commented: ‘Prevost is nothing but Bergoglio with a better tailor.’ If His Majesty’s Opposition refuses to acknowledge this, then at least the faithful and priests ought to, seeking to form a common front with the Society of Saint Pius X and other truly traditional communities. It is true that the Society continues to recognize Prevost’s legitimacy while disobeying his illegitimate orders. But it is equally true that the fragmentation of Catholics faithful to Tradition only weakens any form of resistance. It would therefore be appropriate to put aside internal divisions—which can be clarified in due course—for the sake of the very survival of the Catholic Church in the face of imminent persecution.
And in his conclusion, he urges all bishops, the three cardinals included to support the SSPX bishop consecrations:
As Bishop and Successor of the Apostles, I urge my Brothers in the Episcopate – beginning with Cardinals Müller, Sarah, and Burke – priests, religious, and faithful to give a clear signal of unity, supporting the battle of the Society of Saint Pius X with concrete signs—for example, by participating in the ceremony of the Consecrations this coming July — so that the usurpers occupying Rome may realize that their threats and excommunications no longer frighten anyone. If battle must take place, may it find us arrayed under the banner of Christ the King. And may Our Lady, Queen of Victories and Mediatrix of all Graces—from whom the heretics of the synodal church seek to wrest the titles that adorn Her crown of glory like precious gems—grant us to put aside all secondary disputes, in the name of the Glory of God, the honor of Holy Mother Church, and the salvation of souls redeemed by the Blood of Christ.
