A former Vatican official known for his
opposition to LGBT rights has accused Pope Francis of heresy for
promoting the “legitimization of homosexuality.”
In a recent interview with Italian
media, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano claimed that the Holy Father is
promoting homosexuality as part of a plot to “corrupt” the Roman
Catholic Church.
“For Bergoglio and his entourage,
sodomy is not a sin that cries out for vengeance in the presence of
God, as the Catechism teaches,” Vigano said, referring to the pope
by his given name of Jorge Bergoglio.
“Begoglio's words on this topic –
and even more the actions and words of hose who surround him –
unfortunately confirm that an operation of legitimization of
homosexuality is currently underway,” Newsweek quoted Vigano
as saying.
"Let's not forget that the
legitimization of homosexuality is part of the agenda of the New
World Order – to which the Bergoglian church adheres openly and
unconditionally," he
said. "Not only for its destabilizing value in the social
body, but also because sodomy is the principal instrument with which
the Enemy intends to destroy the Catholic priesthood, corrupting the
souls of the Ministers of God."
Vigano also used the term “deep
church” to describe a “gay lobby” that is working to undermine
the church. The “heresy, sodomy, and corruption” are trademarks
of “the deep state and the deep church,” he said.
The “deep state” is a conspiracy
theory that claims a secret order within the U.S. government is
working against President Donald Trump.
Vigano in 2015 arranged a controversial
meeting between Pope Francis and Kim Davis, the former Kentucky clerk
who fought to keep her office from issuing marriage licenses to gay
and lesbian couples after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state
laws and constitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex marriage. The
Vatican denied assertions from Davis' lawyer that the pope had
personally requested the meeting. Francis accepted Vigano's
resignation from his diplomatic post in April 2016.