Pope Francis FIRES the archbishop who invited Kim Davis
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VATICAN CITY Pope Francis has replaced the Vatican’s ambassador to the United States just days after he was lauded by the country's bishops at their seminary in Rome during a posh annual honors banquet.
Italian Archbishop Carlo Viganò -- who has represented the Vatican in Washington since 2011 but came under scrutiny when his name surfaced last year in questions over how Francis came to meet controversial Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis during his September U.S. trip -- will be succeeded by French Archbishop Christophe Pierre.
The replacement of what is formally known as the apostolic nuncio to the United States, which had been rumored for months, was announced by the Vatican Tuesday. Viganò had turned 75, the traditional retirement age for Catholic bishops, in January.
Until his new appointment, Pierre had been serving as the Vatican’s representative in Mexico. In that role since 2007, he has previously served as apostolic nuncio in both Uganda and Haiti.
Pierre had helped organize Francis’ recent Feb. 12-18 visit to Mexico, when the pontiff stayed each night in the nuncio’s residence in Mexico City.
Viganò was honored Thursday evening by the Pontifical North American College, the U.S. bishops’ seminary...
The former nuncio was lauded at the seminary’s annual $450-a-plate Rector’s Dinner alongside California lawyer Timothy Busch, who specializes in “high net-worth estate planning” and is also co-founder of the Napa Institute, which focuses on defending Catholic principles in the public arena.
...Besides his reported involvement in Francis meeting Kim Davis, Viganò also attracted controversy in early 2015 when he took part in the March for Marriage, a public demonstration in Washington against same-sex marriage.
