Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted has excommunicated gay priest, Fr Chris Carpenter, after he joined a breakaway church. 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 Arizona Republic reports.
The decree of excommunication, one of the Catholic Church's harshest penalties, was issued last month but made public on Monday.
"Fr Carpenter has incurred the censure of excommunication because he has chosen to be in schism with the Catholic Church by becoming a priest of the Reformed Catholic Church, a movement that is not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church," Bishop Olmsted wrote.
"The decree of excommunication by Bishop Olmsted declares the censure that Fr. Carpenter, as an ordained priest, has brought upon himself. The purpose of this sanction is to reconcile Carpenter with the Catholic Church and to preserve the integrity and unity of the Diocese," he wrote.
Fr Gene Young, another former Phoenix priest whom Olmsted excommunicated, is also now a member of the Reformed Catholic Church.
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.
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.
The Reformed Catholic Church, Carpenter told friends, supports ordination of women, full participation of gay and lesbian members, and a married priesthood.
Carpenter plans to begin a parish in California, The Arizona Republic says.
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