The Rev. Chris Carpenter, a Catholic priest who has been on leave from the Phoenix Diocese for three years, has been excommunicated.He is the second Catholic priest to be excommunicated in six months and the third since Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted came to the diocese in late 2003.
The decree of excommunication, one of the Catholic Church's harshest penalties, was issued last month but made public on Monday.
Olmsted said Carpenter has joined an offshoot church, resulting in the decision.
Carpenter now is a member of the Reformed Catholic Church along with the Rev. Gene Young, another former Phoenix priest whom Olmsted excommunicated.
Carpenter could not be reached for comment, and Olmsted declined to be interviewed.
Carpenter's expulsion follows similar action against Monsignor Dale Fushek. Fushek began his own worship community in Mesa last year.
The decree bans Carpenter from participating in Mass, Communion or other religious ceremonies either as a participant or a celebrant.
Peter Steinfels, longtime religion writer for the New York Times and co-director of the Fordham Center on Religion and Culture in New York, said he could remember no other excommunications of diocesan priests in recent years.
"My impression is that the equivalent happens pretty regularly but that it does not require a public announcement," he said.
Carpenter, well-known as the movie reviewer for the Catholic Sun newspaper, took a leave of absence in 2006 after spending 10 years at Christ the King parish in Mesa. He cited health reasons. Carpenter, who is openly gay, long has been at odds with diocesan leadership over ministry to the gay community.
The Reformed Catholic Church, Carpenter said in an e-mail to friends, supports ordination of women, full participation of gay and lesbian members, and a married priesthood.
Carpenter plans to begin a parish in California.
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