Some look at excommunication as a thorny punishment from the Catholic Church.It actually is a medicinal penalty that is compulsory to help the sinner repent and turn back to God.
The Church fervently hopes that the former Catholic changes their ways, and is returns to “communion” with the rest of the Church.
Unfortunately, the 2008 US elections showed a true differentiation.
The mind-boggling part was that fully 54% of American Catholics voted for the party that espoused abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, and same-sex marriage. Cloning during this administration seems a likely probability too.
The items in the above paragraph are the five “non-negotiables” that exist for any Catholic. A “non-negotiable” is an intrinsic evil every time – that is, an act to which evil is essential or inherent, such that no exceptions exist.
Voting for the Democrats was voting for a new heath care system that would have abortions take place as health care. Their vote included embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) – but not adult stem cell research (ASCR). ESCR has produced tumors in experimental animals, and for human research it requires the death of a young human being.
Only one candidate advocated using amniotic, umbilical, and “pluripotent” stem cells, which do not involve killing a young person. And she was only a vice-presidential option.
For Catholics, all issues do not have equal weight, and abortion and euthanasia are at the very top of the priority list – no issue is higher. Therefore, any Catholic voting for a candidate who endorses most (or all, in this case) of the non-negotiables is de facto excommunicated by their own actions from the Catholic Church.
When confronted with this idea, some alleged Catholics become obstinate, agitated at the Church, and even more obtuse in their thinking. Other Catholics understand that this is a method the Church uses to pull them back into the Faith. Understanding this, they will start believing what a true Catholic actually believes.
For the last 100 years every pope has also condemned socialism, which seems to be rearing its head in the Obama administration. Every "non-negotiable" including abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and possibly cloning is part of every socialistic proposal of this administration.
The main reason Catholicism is not compatible with socialism is that socialism ultimately denies the central truth of Catholicism: that man needs God. Per the five Catholic “non-negotiables,” no Catholic can support this administration no matter how Catholic-friendly it may sound.
Excommunication exists to bring lapsed Catholics back into the faith.
In 1996, Bishop Bruskewitz forbade Catholics of the Diocese of Lincoln (Nebraska) from membership in twelve dissident groups: Planned Parenthood, Society of Saint Pius X, Hemlock Society, Call to Action, Call to Action Nebraska, Saint Michael the Archangel Chapel, Freemasons, Job’s Daughters, DeMolay, Eastern Star, Rainbow Girls, and Catholics for a Free Choice.
"Contumacious persistence in such membership for one month following the interdict on the part of any such Catholics will by that very fact cause them to be excommunicated," said the order.
And when Catholics would not comply for one month, they were automatically excommunicated.
The Vatican would not rescind the excommunication even after an appeal.
Pope Benedict himself discussed excommunication for those espousing abortion on his flight to Brazil on 5/9/07.
A reporter broke the ice by asking him if he supported the excommunication of Mexican legislators who had voted to legalize abortion. The Pope replied, “Yes, this excommunication was not something arbitrary, but is foreseen by Canon Law…[CCL 915]."
Catholics are all-inclusive, but 46% in the last election demonstrated that variances in faith are not common to Catholicism.
The fifty-plus bishops who stood up for the Faith should be truly praised. For them, automatic excommunication was not an option.
Imagine the surprise of half of the alleged Catholics in the US when they realize they have been automatically excommunicated, because they do not believe as the Church does.
So exactly what religion are they?
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