Vatican excommunicates its former ambassador to US

The Vatican has excommunicated its former ambassador to the US, after finding him guilty of schism, an inevitable end for the firebrand conservative who became one of Pope Francis’ most ardent critics.

The Vatican’s doctrine office imposed the penalty on Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò after a meeting of its members on Thursday and informed him of its decision on Friday, a press statement said.

It cited Viganò’s “refusal to recognise and submit to the supreme pontiff, his rejection of communion with the members of the church subject to him, and of the legitimacy and magisterial authority of the second Vatican council.”