Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has once again spoken out regarding what he describes as the infiltration of the Catholic Church by a network he refers to as the “deep church.” In a series of statements published on X (formerly Twitter) on March 6, Viganò alleged that this infiltration has transformed the Church into “an organization in support of the woke globalist Left,” according to LifeSiteNews.
In response to questions he said were posed by The New York Times, but ultimately unpublished, Viganò discussed his views on the state of the Catholic Church in the United States and the broader impact of Pope Francis’ leadership. Addressing the first question, he claimed that the Catholic hierarchy “has been almost entirely composed of emissaries of a very powerful subversive lobby.”
“We have a deep church that has infiltrated and occupied the Catholic Church, as well as a deep state that controls the governments of many nations,” Viganò stated. “The members of this counter-church have transformed the Catholic Church into an organization in support of the woke globalist Left, after having destroyed Faith and Morals and subverted the purposes that Our Lord Jesus Christ gave to His Church.” He further alleged that “the deep state and the deep church are two sides of the same coin, and both take orders from the same master who finances them both, as we have seen in the USAID scandal.”
To counteract this alleged infiltration, Viganò argued that corrupt clergy must be removed from positions of influence. “It is necessary to break the bond of the deep church’s ideological and financial dependence on the globalist elite, by ousting corrupt and blackmailed cardinals, bishops, and priests, and instead promoting those whose lives are consistent with the Gospel and who have at heart the salvation of souls in fidelity to the perennial Tradition of the Catholic Church,” he wrote.
Regarding the current state of the Catholic Church in America, Viganò described it as “a disastrous situation” that he believes was “deliberately planned in recent decades through a systematic infiltration.” He named several deceased church leaders whom he claimed were central to this process, including “Cardinals Francis J. Spellman (New York), John F. Dearden (Detroit), Joseph Bernardin (Chicago), Raymond G. Hunthausen (Seattle), Roger Mahony (Los Angeles), William J. Levada (San Francisco).”
Viganò also accused certain living American prelates of being part of this infiltration, stating, “They are all Bergoglio’s men, protected by him, promoted by him, and perhaps blackmailed by him.” He added, “Let us not forget the decisive role of the Seminaries, from where the infiltration and capillary corruption of the clergy started.”
As for a potential solution, Viganò suggested that American Catholics “cut the funding” and “support traditional Catholic communities instead.” He also called for governmental intervention, stating that “if the Trump Administration investigates and prosecutes” clergy members who “have committed crimes or tried to cover them up,” it could help address the situation.
When addressing the second question on preventing a future pontiff from following Pope Francis’ direction, Viganò expressed skepticism about efforts to correct what he sees as the Church’s current course. He criticized conservative cardinals who, in his view, fail to question “the Second Vatican Council and its disastrous reforms.” He specifically named Cardinals Raymond Burke and Robert Sarah in this regard.
He further claimed that Pope Francis’ influence on the College of Cardinals has secured his vision for the Church: “110 cardinals out of 138 cardinals have been created by Bergoglio precisely to ‘shield’ the Bergoglian synodal revolution and guarantee that it continues.”
Viganò stated that lasting change would require a complete reversal of recent Church reforms: “There are now sixty years of errors and horrors that need to be completely reset: a titanic task, which only divine intervention can make possible.”
Additionally, he raised concerns about the legitimacy of the next papal conclave, arguing that Pope Francis’ authority itself is questionable. “Bergoglio’s usurpation – which I have denounced and which has earned me ‘excommunication’ – undermines the legitimacy of the Cardinals he has created in these twelve years and the validity of the election of any Successor,” he wrote. He called for “an operation of transparency and justice” before any future conclave takes place, warning that attempting to “simply forget everything and allow us to turn the page without doing anything, would be a very serious error and a betrayal of the mandate that Our Lord gave to the Apostles and their Successors.”
LifeSiteNews has reached out to The New York Times for confirmation regarding the unpublished questions posed to Viganò and is awaiting a response.
The archbishop’s statements have sparked considerable discussion within the Catholic community, with supporters viewing them as a call to action and critics questioning their validity. Regardless, his remarks reflect ongoing debates about the direction of the Church and its leadership.
