ROME — In an extraordinary escalation of internal Church conflict, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States and prominent whistleblower, has filed a civil lawsuit in Rome against the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR)—commonly known as the Vatican Bank—for the alleged unlawful appropriation of assets earmarked for charitable work.
According to a press release issued May 5, 2025, Viganò has empowered constitutional law expert Prof. Augusto Sinagra to pursue legal action in the Civil Court of Rome, naming IOR Director General Gian Franco Mammì, prior directors, a Curial Prelate, and implicating Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, as a key figure aware of the alleged misconduct.
Allegations: Theft of Charity Assets
The lawsuit accuses Vatican bank officials of seizing “very valuable assets” that Viganò claims were entrusted to the IOR for charitable purposes. Despite repeated private requests to Cardinal Parolin to return the funds, Viganò says he was met with silence and evasion.
The legal case seeks to compel an international rogatory—a formal request for judicial cooperation between states—so that Vatican authorities can be ordered to implement a preventive seizure of the allegedly stolen assets.
Freemasonic Ties?
In a striking turn, the Archbishop references connections between Parolin and Prof. Giuliano Di Bernardo, a known Freemason and former Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Italy. This bold mention hints at what Viganò has long called “the deep state of the Church”—a network of ecclesiastical and secular elites he believes has hijacked the Vatican.
Viganò states that Parolin will be summoned as a witness, with documents already in the Archbishop’s possession purportedly demonstrating the Vatican Secretary of State’s full awareness and involvement in the events.
Context: The Rise of Ecclesiastical Legal Warfare
This legal offensive is not Viganò’s first confrontation with the Vatican establishment. The Archbishop rose to global prominence in 2018 when he accused Pope Francis of covering up abuse scandals. Since then, he has become a central figure in the global Catholic resistance against what he calls the “Bergoglian regime”, named after Pope Francis’s birth name, Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
But this lawsuit signals a new front: not just theological, not merely moral—but now financial and legal.
What Comes Next
The case will thrust into public light questions surrounding the financial transparency of the Vatican Bank, long accused of murky dealings. It will also test the legal limits of the Italian and Vatican judicial systems, which maintain separate sovereignties but are closely intertwined.
If proven, this lawsuit could trigger seismic reverberations—not just across the Catholic Church, but across international charity law, ecclesiastical credibility, and the future governance of the Vatican’s powerful financial institutions.
One thing is clear: Archbishop Viganò is no longer just writing letters. He’s filing lawsuits—and naming names.
