Conspiracy theories and President Donald Trump
In May 2020, National Catholic Reporter reported that a number of German bishops had rejected COVID-19 conspiracy theories spread by Viganò,[111][112] saying that "populists and other conspiracy theorists … want to interpret all efforts to contain the pandemic as a pretext to found a hate-filled technocratic tyranny and wipe out Christian civilization."[111] Viganò had circulated an appeal he wrote and posted on the website "Veritas Liberabit Vos" in which he criticized "disproportionate and unjustifiable restrictions" on the "exercise of freedom of worship, expression and movement" enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying it was "social engineering" and "subtle forms of dictatorship" that violated "inalienable rights of citizens and their fundamental freedoms" and were a "disturbing prelude to the realization of a world government beyond all control".[113] He cast doubt on the "contagiousness, danger and resistance of the virus"[113] He said that "foreign powers" and "shady interests" were interfering in domestic affairs and were part of a "plot to create a world government" that "would result in the permanent imposition of unacceptable forms of restriction on freedoms."[114]
In his June 7, 2020 letter to then President Donald Trump, Viganò made "apocalyptic claims about a looming spiritual battle and a globalist conspiracy pursuing a one-world government," according to the Catholic News Agency.[115] Viganò said that Catholic bishops who support George Floyd protests associated with Black Lives Matter, were aligned with the New World Order conspiracy,[116][117] and that they invoked the Masonic "universal brotherhood" — also part of the new world order plot. He described the protests and the COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns as a Biblical struggle between light and dark, urging President Trump to fight against the deep state in the United States, which included responding to the protests.[118] Viganò alleged that the protests were organized by now President Joe Biden who embodies the deep state goals.[119] President Trump responded favorably to the letter in a Tweet and encouraging everyone to read Viganò's letter.[120]
Journalists from Radio Canada the New York Times and historian and theologian Massimo Faggioli, traced the link between President Trump and Viganò, to the archbishop's appointment in 2011 as Nuncio to the United States.[12][121][122] In 2008, when President Obama was elected, American Catholics had increased their influence through their alliance with the Tea Party, according to Faggioli.[122] Faggioli said that in Washington over the next five years, Viganò "forged close ties" with the a "militant fringe" of traditional Catholics and gradually embraced conspiracy theories.[121] When Pope Francis became Pope, some Catholics in the United States believed it was part of a globalist elite plot to liberalize the Catholic Church. Faggioli said that Trump had popularized and normalized the conspiracy theories, so that when Viganò published of a series of letters with strong conspiratorial overtones from May to October 2020, Trump's "most ardent Catholic supporters" had adhered to Viganò's messages.[121]
In response to the June 2020 letter and other statements, many Catholic leaders further distanced themselves from Viganò and his remarks, which the Catholic News Agency described as "apocalyptic claims about a looming spiritual battle and a globalist conspiracy pursuing a one-world government."[115][111] Viganò, who refused to recognize Pope Francis, has called for his resignation,[123] and in July 2020 he accused Pope Francis of following the 'homosexual agenda of the New World Order conspiracy theory.[124]