Finding Vigano

Moynihan Robert

Description

In 2018, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano released an 11-page testimony that rocked the world. In it, he called out the corruption of the Church, especially with regards to its handling of the sexual abuse crisis-addressing most specifically the case of disgraced Cardinal Theodore McCarrick-and stunningly called for the resignation of Pope Francis. And then he was gone . . . at least physically. In these pages, longtime Vatican journalist Robert Moynihan, publisher of Inside the Vatican magazine, brings to bear his vast experience in the corridors of power in Rome as well as his longstanding friendship with Vigano to produce a book that both provides an incisive look at the content of the Testimony itself, but also, through interviews conducted in-person with Vigano at undisclosed locations, a personal look at the man whose conscience compelled him to speak out about the "filth" in which the Church he loves and to which he has given his life, has been mired for years.Part thriller, as when Moynihan details his efforts to reach Vigano and makes his way to their meeting, and part personal memoir as both men reflect on their lives, families, and the state of the Church in the world, Finding Vigano has something for everyone. Readers familiar with the Vigano saga will appreciate the insights into the man provided through the interviews, while those unfamiliar with the drama of the Testimony will, after reading, have a better understanding of the key issues and players involved.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian theology
• Catholic Church
• Christian Church

Informations

• Publié par: TAN Books
• Date de parution: 20 novembre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781505116205
• Langue: English

Extrait

FINDING VIGANÒ
F INDING V IGANÒ
I N S EARCH OF THE M AN W HOSE T ESTIMONY S HOOK THE C HURCH AND THE W ORLD
ROBERT MOYNIHAN
in conversation with
ARCHBISHOP CARLO MARIA VIGANÒ
TAN Books Gastonia, North Carolina
Finding Viganò: In Search of the Man Whose Testimony Shook the Church and the World © 2020 Robert Moynihan
All rights reserved. With the exception of short excerpts used in critical review, no part of this work may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in any form whatsoever, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible—Second Catholic Edition (Ignatius Edition), copyright © 2006 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America © 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.
Cover design by Caroline Green
Cover image: Carlo Maria Vigano, Archbishop during the 8th edition of the ‘National March for Life’ on May 19, 2018 in Rome, Italy. Photo by Stefano Montesi/Corbis via Getty Images.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020945692
ISBN: 978-1-5051-1619-9
Kindle ISBN: 978-1-5051-1618-2
ePUB ISBN: 978-1-5051-1620-5
Published in the United States by
TAN Books
PO Box 269
Gastonia, NC 28053
www.TANBooks.com
Printed in the United States of America
To my father, William Trumbull Moynihan (1926–2020) May eternal light shine upon him.
“We have this treasure in earthen vessels.”
—2 Corinthians 4:7
“The greatest persecution of the Church doesn’t come from enemies on the outside.”
—Pope Benedict XVI
“‘When you see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place, let him who reads understand.’ Man’s mind is a holy place and a temple of God in which the demons have laid waste the soul through passionate thoughts and set up the idol of sin…. Some say that these things will also happen when the Antichrist comes.”
—St. Maximus the Confessor
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
—2 Chronicles 7:14
“You are the fairest of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips.”
—Psalm 45:2
“He had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.”
—Isaiah 53:2
CONTENTS
Publisher’s Preface
Preface
PART I: Who Is Carlo Maria Viganò?
  1 How I Came to Know Viganò
  2 Viganò’s Early Life
  3 His Father’s Death
  4 Holiness
  5 The Faithful Young Priest
  6 Chosen for Rome
  7 “Vatileaks” and Transfer to the United States
  8 The Kim Davis Meeting: September 24, 2015
PART II: Eleven Pages that Shook the Church … and the World
  9 A Brief Synopsis
10 Viganò’s Integrity
11 The Context in Which the “Testimony” Appeared
12 The Complete Text with Commentary and Analysis
13 The Pope’s Silence
14 After the “Testimony”
15 Flawed Characters
PART III: From 2018 to 2019 … More Letters
16 Testimony 2 and Vatican Response
17 Ouellet’s Odd Response (October 7, 2018)
18 Testimonies 3 and 4 (Viganò Responds to Ouellet’s Letter and Offers an Exhortation to the Bishops of the United States)
Interlude 1: How Had It Come to This?
PART IV: Finding Viganò
19 The Call
20 “I Am Back in Rome”
21 My Father
Interlude 2: Two Popes at Christmas
22 Francis Encountered at the Buffet
23 Archbishop Gaenswein
24 Finding Viganò
PART V: Face to Face with Viganò
25 First Meeting, July 27, 2019
26 Monastic Vocation?
27 J’accuse!
28 Viganò’s Health
Interlude 3: What Is at Stake for Catholics
29 Hope Amidst the Crisis and Priestly Memories
PART VI: Viganò on the Crisis in the Church
30 Homosexuality as Key
31 Increasing Concerns About Francis and His Circle
PART VII: To the Monastery
32 A Conversation in the Car
33 A Shocking Statement at the Monastery
34 Viganò Is Moved to Tears
35 Viganò Is Again Moved to Tears
36 The Abbot’s View—Viganò Weeps a Third Time
37 Viganò on Fatherhood
Part VIII: Viganò on Francis
38 Strong Words
Part IX: An Important Book
39 In Sinu Jesu
Part X: Farewell
40 Farewell
Epilogue: Viganò Found
PUBLISHER’S PREFACE
A RCHBISHOP C ARLO Maria Viganò is a man standing in the middle of a storm. His allegations regarding Theodore (former) Cardinal McCarrick, the Roman Curia, and the code of silence permeating the Church have made him the focus of much attention from the media, both Catholic and secular. Many love him; many condemn him.
The archbishop has commented on numerous “hot-button” issues in the Church today. As is often the case in the tangled web of human affairs, it can be a challenge for interested Catholics, laity and clergy alike, to make sense of this difficult time in the Church. TAN’s publication of this work is neither a public endorsement nor condemnation of the archbishop. Rather, it is a search for the man himself, his facts, and his opinions.
Shortly after the archbishop’s original “Testimony” in August of 2018, we contracted with Robert Moynihan—a man we trust—to shed light on these difficult issues. Moynihan is the longtime publisher of Inside the Vatican magazine and one of our generation’s most respected journalists covering the Catholic Church. He is widely respected in Rome and throughout the world for his orthodoxy, his love for the Church, and for his fair-mindedness. And, we might add, it is no exaggeration to say that he is one who knows much of the Vatican’s “inside baseball.” However, paramount in our estimation of choosing a man for this job was our confident knowledge that Robert Moynihan is truly a son of Holy Mother Church who strives always to think with Her, as do we here at TAN.
Along the path of his distinguished career, Moynihan developed a personal relationship with Archbishop Viganò. This relationship led to his being one of the very few to gain access to the man at an undisclosed location. Through his questioning and analysis of the archbishop and his statements, as well as through the knowledge he brings to this project, Moynihan successfully opens a window into the soul of Viganò so that readers may obtain a more complete picture of the man whose testimony so shocked the Church and whose additional statements and interviews continue to do so.
Upon contracting with Moynihan, the archbishop was not well-known among the Catholic laity, but it was clear that he was, for the foreseeable future, here to stay. He was going to raise more issues; he was going to take on what he believed to be the systematic abuse of Vatican power; he was going to call out those he thought to be apostates in the Church with a vigor to which we are unaccustomed.
We want to assure our readers that the leadership of TAN questioned many times: Does the publication of such an interview help or hinder Holy Mother Church? We did so on our own initiative from the very outset, but also in the ensuing months as some people cautioned us against setting out on this road, given that Viganò has turned into such a lightning rod in Church affairs. Moynihan, too, has had similar experiences. That said, we concluded the former. We concluded we were taking more of a journalistic approach to this work and that it was a service to the Church for a publisher with TAN’s reputation for orthodoxy to engage with this story. If TAN were a newspaper, such considerations would not be an issue. But when one puts the interview into a book, it is often presumed that the publisher endorses every word and utterance. We ask the reader to draw this simple distinction and make up his own mind as to the credibility of the archbishop.
Now, since the signing of this contract with Moynihan, the archbishop has made even more controversial statements that have, frankly, muddied the waters in the sense that the present work does not delve into his statements on Covid, Vatican II, and the like. As a publisher, we have a moving target, and it is difficult to keep up with the news cycle, impossible in fact in this particular case. At any point in the process, from contracting to publication, the archbishop will have said more than is covered in the book.
The present volume serves as a partial biography of the archbishop from childhood to the present day. Furthermore, it is a detailed analysis (by Moynihan) of Viganò’s original “Testimony.” The interview questions and Viganò’s answers help the reader to better understand the archbishop’s motivations as well as, in certain ways, the man himself. We feel that this knowledge is essential for Catholics struggling to make sense of these events.
Lastly, the publisher and the author have discussed the possibility of a second volume, referenced in this text, that would explore the archbishop’s more recent controversial statements.
In time, Holy Mother Church will have the final word on the archbishop’s statements. And TAN Books will faithfully follow all she says, through thick and thin, through financial success or failure, through public praise or scorn.
We pray for the archbishop, his supporters, and his enemies. We pray that the Lord ultimately uses the archbishop to bring about truth and unity within the Church. And lastly, we pray for the good intentions of the Holy Father.
PREFACE
I WENT in search of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò and found him. But what I discovered in finding Viganò was that my journey had not ended but only just begun. It is a journey that continues to this day and promises to continue for a long time yet.
The journey will continue because the true mystery that needs to be unraveled is not the physical mystery of Viganò’s whereabouts but the spiritual mystery of what it means to be a father, of what true pater