In a recent publication, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò paints a bleak picture of the Catholic Church, denouncing a "deliberate infiltration by corrupt and blackmailable elements" that have allegedly transformed the hierarchy into a "lobby of perverted heretics." According to him, this situation is sustained by the "cowardly complicity" of the hierarchy itself and manifests not only in the rise of unworthy individuals but also in a "criminal purge" of doctrinally and morally sound priests and bishops. Viganò connects this decay to the "conciliar and synodal church," which, he argues, conceals its scandals so as not to discredit its own system, concluding with an eschatological quote about the difficulty of finding faith on earth at the coming of the Son of Man. Viganò's analysis understandably focuses on the moral and conspiratorial dimension of the crisis. However, a deeper investigation, with a philosophical and theological foundation, reveals that such moral scandals are, in fact, symptoms of a much more profound disease: a crisis of the intellect and of faith itself, rooted in a doctrinal deviation that precedes and enables moral decay.
🔍 The Intellectual Root of the Decay
The denunciation of a "lobby of heretics" and a "lavender mafia" points to a corruption of morals. However, the primary crisis is not of the will, but of the intellect. What is being observed is the result of decades of a "humanist cut and paste," in which traditional Catholic doctrine has been systematically altered to conform to a new anthropocentric worldview (Nougé, 2017, p. 381). In this new perspective, man, his dignity (understood in a secular way), and his experiences become the center of religion, to the detriment of God and His revealed truth. Moral disorder, therefore, is not the cause but the inevitable consequence of an intellectual disorder that has subverted the very ends of the Christian life. When objective truth is replaced by subjective feelings and worldly "values," morality loses its transcendent foundation.
⚖️ The Question of Distorted Authority
The "criminal purge" of orthodox elements, mentioned by Viganò, is the practical manifestation of an authority that no longer serves the Truth, but an ideology. The fundamental issue is not merely the presence of corrupt individuals in positions of power, but the theological possibility of an authority that formally promotes error. The discussion on the hypothesis of the "heretical pope" becomes central here, not as a personal accusation, but as a key to understanding how the Church's structure can be used to undermine the very faith it is supposed to protect (Nougé, 2017, p. 233). The persecution of those faithful to Tradition is not a mere act of personal tyranny; it is a logical necessity for the consolidation of a new ecclesial paradigm. Where doctrine is fluid, the only intolerable heresy is the affirmation of an immutable truth.
🌍 The Church and the "World": An Inversion of Ends
The claim that the hierarchy hides its scandals "so as not to discredit the conciliar and synodal church" touches the nerve center of the crisis: the radical change in the relationship between the Church and the world. The modern mentality, instead of seeking the salvation of souls from the world for eternal life, seeks the "salvation of the world" in itself, transforming the Church's mission into a project of social improvement and humanist peace (Nougé, 2017, p. 313). In this logic, the dogma of the Social Kingship of Christ is replaced by an interreligious dialogue that relativizes the unique salvific role of the Catholic Church (Nougé, 2017, p. 369). Faith ceases to be the adherence of the intellect to divine Revelation and becomes a vague religious sentiment at the service of universal fraternity. This is why Viganò's final question—"when the Son of Man comes, will he still find faith on earth?"—is so pertinent. The crisis described is not just one of morality, but a silent apostasy that corrodes faith from within, maintaining the external appearance of an institution while its supernatural purpose is emptied out.
References
NOUGUÉ, Carlos. Do Papa Herético e outros opúsculos. 1st ed. Rio de Janeiro: Edições Santo Tomás, 2017.
