Vatican excommunicates a former ambassador to the US and declares him guilty of schism

The Vatican has excommunicated its former ambassador to the United States after finding him guilty of schism. It was an inevitable outcome for Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a conservative who became one of Pope Francis’ most ardent critics. The Vatican said on Friday that its doctrine office imposed the penalty after a meeting of its members. It cited what it called Vigano's “refusal to recognize 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.”