The Catholic Cyber Militiaman

First, I hope that this post is not perceived as just another “tin foil hat” moment.  There still may be Catholics out there who think that the whole “Viganò Thing” is just another wild conspiracy theory concocted by “Rad Trads” bent on seeing the destruction of this papacy.  No tin foil hats are required to understand what the former Nuncio is saying, or why it’s still a big deal.

The Summer of Shame.

Most of the Catholic readers who wander through the blogosphere are aware of the ongoing crisis which is plaguing our beloved Church.  We are living through two rather massive challenges:  First, there’s what’s been called “the Summer of Shame” which has resulted from the seemingly never-ending series of allegations of sexual misconduct (old cases, new cases; child victims, post-pubescent victims; predatory priests, complicit and occasionally criminal bishops, etc. etc. etc.)  Second, there’s been the long-running uneasiness which many Catholics have with what looks like an increasingly heterodox direction we’re seeing from Rome when it comes to long-standing doctrines and dogmas.

The two are related, if for no other reason than those attempting to deflect anger over the first crisis charge that Traditionalists are attempting to incite anger against the Holy Father because they’re upset with what they perceive as the second crisis (and in fact, said Traddies are just rigid hypocrites and Pharisees, etc.)

Enter Viganò.

One of the most stunning events this summer were the claims made by Archbishop Carlos Maria Viganò.   His first letter contained eleven pages of what appeared to be rather specific allegations which provided a list of names, dates, and events, as well as information on where the source documentation could be found.  The first letter was reacted to with ad-hominem counter attacks, along with accusations of rumor-mongering and gossip.  Various statements and homilies from Rome seemed to equate Abp. Viganò with “the Great Accuser.”

There was a second letter from Viganò appealing to Cardinal Marc Armand Ouellet to describe what he knows about the documentation described in the allegations.  The Cardinal responded with attacks against Viganò, but did so in such a way which almost seemed to confirm some of Viganò’s original statements.

The Third Letter.

And now, in the past few days, a third letter has been released from Abp. Viganò.  I found his arguments compelling.  If his allegations are not true, they are certainly worthy of a point-by-point refutation by Vatican authorities…providing said authorities can provide convincing proof that the archbishop is making all this stuff up.

Vigano emphasizes the fact that he’ll be dead soon, and doesn’t want to face Christ’s judgement with the knowledge that he failed to disclose alleged crimes of his fellow priests and prelates on his conscience.  Fear of God’s judgement sounds like a pretty compelling reason not to simply make stuff up because you’re mad they didn’t make you a Cardinal.  Just sayin’…

For those interested in learning more about this, please consider viewing the following video.  The two scholars discussing this third letter are not crackpot Rad Trads; far from it.  Dr. Marshall (https://taylormarshall.com/) is the author of a number of books including _Thomas Aquinas in 50 Pages:  A Quick Layman’s Guide to Thomism._  Dr. Marshal and Dr. Timothy Gordon offer a reasoned description of the history of the controversy and give a pretty good analysis of the contents of the third letter.

The link can be found here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8WMHtZXgMw

Again, my intent is not to throw a hand grenade into the middle of our mutually-shared faith, kicking Holy Mother Church when she’s down, or anything of the like.  But we need to remember that we _are_ in a crisis of very profound dimensions.  These points are worth considering.

Note:  The contents of the third Viganò can be found here in its entirety (scroll down past the Italian original to find the English translation)à https://www.marcotosatti.com/2018/10/19/vigano-risponde-al-card-ouellet-la-terza-testimonianza/