'Extremely unlikely' that Viganò does not know what he is talking about when heretically he calls Moscow 'Third Rome': Chmielewski
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò is considered a great defender of Catholic orthodoxy. He condemns heresies, praises the Tridentine Mass, and preaches unambiguous teaching. Why, however, does he have no problem cooperating with schismatics – and promoting the heretical concept of a “Third Rome”?On March 14, 2023, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, former apostolic nuncio in Washington, attended the founding congress of the International Russophile Movement in Moscow, where he delivered theses that disqualify him as a credible advocate of the renewal of Roman Catholicism.Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò is a man who has undoubtedly made great contributions to the Church in many areas. For many years he was a member of the papal diplomacy. He worked in nunciatures in Iraq, Great Britain and Nigeria, served in the Secretariat of State, acted as delegate for nunciatures to the Holy See, and also as secretary of the Governorate of the Vatican City State; finally, he was distinguished with such an important function as nuncio to the United States. He became famous around the world when in 2018 he published an extensive dossier on the activities of Theodore McCarrick, accusing Pope Francis of using his services despite knowing about the guilt of the then cardinal.
Since then, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has been active in public with great regularity, speaking on both ecclesiastical and political topics, often in a pertinent and interesting way. One of his main areas of interest has become the Latin liturgy. Archbishop Viganò "discovered" it a few years ago and considered it the only correct one, and began to criticize the Novus Ordo Missae very harshly. "A battle must be fought over the ontological difference between the theocentric vision of the Tridentine Mass and the anthropocentric vision of its conciliar opponent. This is really nothing more than a battle between Christ and Satan. It is a battle for the Mass, which is the heart of our faith, the throne to which the Divine Eucharistic King descends, the Calvary on which the immaculate Lamb is reiterated in an unbloody form. It is not a supper, it is not a concert, it is not a show for showing off oddities, nor a pulpit for heresiarchs, it is not a podium for organizing rallies," he wrote on the subject in January this year.
Archbishop Viganò is very keen to use such extremely harsh formulations: he rejects, as he writes, the "post-conciliar sect", and combats numerous decisions of Francis, whom he consistently refers to simply as "Bergoglio". Regardless of whether Archbishop Viganò is right or not, he undoubtedly presents himself as a determined defender of orthodoxy against various heresies. His aversion to the "post-conciliar Church" is quite surprising: after all, he worked in its structures for several decades, serving the "post-conciliar" popes and most likely celebrating the "post-conciliar" Mass. Of course, people sometimes change their views quite abruptly under the influence of various experiences or reflections. However, Viganò revealed this change when he was over 70 years old, as an archbishop, an experienced diplomat.
The strangest thing, in my opinion, is something else. The hierarch who defends the Catholic faith so much and hates heresy so much has no problem with close cooperation... with Russian schismatics and enemies of Rome; heck, he even repeats heretical concepts about Moscow as the "Third Rome."
On March 14, 2023, at a congress in Moscow, the archbishop said: "When the Western Roman Empire lost its political role under the onslaught of barbarian invasions, the baton passed to Constantinople. And when the Eastern Roman Empire also fell with the conquest of Byzantium by Muhammad II, it was Moscow that saved its religious and political heritage, with its saints, also holy kings (Saints and Holy Kings - ed.). The current crisis shows us the decline of the corrupt West, in which there is no Pope Leo the Great who could save its fate, but which still has a future if it can regain its providential mission and recognize what unites it with the mission of Russia. [...] The Russian Federation undeniably stands as the last bastion of civilization against barbarism and gathers around itself all those nations that do not intend to submit to the colonization of NATO, the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund." As you can see, the archbishop clearly referred here to the concept of the "Third Rome" (Rome - Constantinople - Moscow). The entire speech in English can be read, for example, on the blog of the archbishop's friend, a Vaticanist, Marc Tosatti (here - link ).
He did so not for the first time. He simply called Moscow the "Third Rome" in an article he published last year, shortly after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. He was publicly criticized for this at the time, but, as his speech at the Russophile congress shows, he has not changed his opinion about Moscow: he still believes that it is the hope for Christianity and he still believes that it continues the mission of Rome.
The problem is that the concept of the third Rome is strictly heretical. It was developed in 1523 by the schismatic monk Philotheus of Pskov. According to Philotheus, ancient Rome fell because of heresy. Constantinople also fell because of heresy – in this case, it was supposed to be a punishment for entering into a union with the Pope (the Union of Florence, 1439). That is why the third Rome was born – Moscow.
Already at its very source, the concept of the Third Rome is a concept that is hateful towards the papacy and is precisely heretical: for it attributes to God the punishment of Constantinople for its reconciliation with the papacy .
In subsequent decades and centuries, Russia eagerly invoked this idea, also establishing the Moscow Patriarchate, a political and ecclesial expression of the hardened schism.
I wonder how it is possible that Archbishop Viganò, who distances himself so strongly from heresy, is not bothered by the idea of the "Third Rome". Many people try to explain it by political blindness: he is Italian, he has a different perspective, and besides, he dislikes liberals so much that he treats every political opponent of theirs as a savior. This would perhaps be credible in the case of an inexperienced man. In the case of Archbishop Viganò, however, we are dealing with a seasoned diplomat. It is extremely unlikely that Viganò does not know what he is talking about. Even if he did, he would demonstrate great incompetence, which would still undermine his credibility. However, in view of the fact that after his previous description of Moscow as the "Third Rome" he was publicly criticized, and yet he did not change his mind, he even tried to announce exactly the same concept, but in more camouflaged words, I think that it is not naivety that should be spoken of.
Russian political ideologist Alexander Dugin has long been gaining popularity in certain European and American circles. This son of a Soviet GRU intelligence general uses anti-liberal trappings to proclaim Russian supremacy over Central and Eastern Europe. He hates Catholicism, which is why his theses addressed to the Western right have an obvious weakness: they do not reach Catholics. It is hard to resist the impression that – consciously or not – this “gap” in the apparatus of Russian infiltration of Western right-wing circles is being filled by Archbishop Viganò. He proclaims the same Russian supremacy – but in a version that suits Catholics.
A simple mistake? Blindness? After 50 years of service in the diplomatic service of the Holy See – and highly valued service at that: highly unlikely.
Paul Chmielewski
Source: https://pch24.pl/abp-carlo-maria-vigano-dugin-dla-katolikow/