The excommunication of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò for “his refusal to recognize and submit to the Supreme Pontiff” presents us with an opportunity to revisit Viganò’s claim that the pope is not valid.
Among the many reasons Viganò offers for saying so is the possibility that the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio was rigged and thus invalid. The rigging, he says, was largely the work of the Sankt Gallen Mafia, a group of liberal bishops who met regularly in Sankt Gallen, Switzerland, supposedly for the purpose of finding a candidate for pope more in line with their humanistic agenda.
Since most of the original Sankt Gallen Mafia are now dead, and since the papal election is conducted in secret, it wouldn’t be easy to confirm Viganò’s charge of election tampering. Moreover, few, if any seem disposed to investigate the matter.
The prevalent attitude among the Catholic commenting class is that the Holy Spirit has spoken and thus the matter is closed.
Well, it’s true that the Church teaches that the pope is protected by the Holy Spirit from teaching error. But does the Church also teach that the Holy Spirit prevents the College of Cardinals from electing the wrong man? As theologian Jared Staudt points out, “the Holy Spirit does not choose the pope … the cardinals choose the pope while praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”
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