By and large, automatic excommunications are not known to the public. Unless the individual committed the action in a public manner that would cause the local ordinary to issue a statement about the automatic excommunication, the burden is on the offender to confess the sin and seek the removal of the penalty. An excommunicated person is not to receive the sacraments. However, if he does so in violation of the law, the sacraments are valid.
An excommunicated person who marries has illicitly but validly received the sacrament. In such circumstances the grace of the sacrament would be of no effect, since the person is in a state of mortal sin. As always when dealing with cheap customer-service scams, the best advice is to begin politely with a letter and then work your way up to firm, insistent phone calls.
And a little public badgering never hurt, either: Forward your correspondence to local news outlets or publish them yourself on a blog. Eventually, the church will understand that you're not going to stop and it'll approve your request, whereupon you will join the proud ranks of the excommunicated, alongside historical figures such as Fidel Castro, Napoleon I, Martin Luther, and every Catholic who practiced Freemasonry during the 18th century. Wash that blood from your hands!
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In return, we pledge our ongoing commitment to truthful, progressive journalism and serving our community. Thank you—you are appreciated! Like Sonia Johnson. And, since there is no way the church could effectively police the excommunication, I could also ignore it and keep going to Mass and taking Communion.
As one canon lawyer told me, the church has only the power we give it. No more burning at the stake, no loss of one's job, no Vatican prisons -- what are they going to do? But in the end, excommunication is no joking matter, No Catholic, however rebellious and irreverent, wants to be excommunicated.
And so I spent my 25 years as head of Catholics for a Free Choice with my fingers crossed. The fact that there were no firm canonical grounds for excommunication did not mean some overzealous bishop wouldn't do the wrong thing.
And because bishops are still feudal princes, the excommunication would be allowed to stand. Catholic politicians tend to worry more than radical women about the church's official disapproval because they have something more to lose -- elections and credibility.
During political campaigns threats of excommunication can become a distraction from getting heard on big issues like healthcare and war. When John Kerry was on "wafer watch," with reporters camped out in front of whatever church he was going to that Sunday in order to see if he would be turned away from the altar, he had trouble getting his message out.
And no doubt he was scared. Catholics of a certain age remember public humiliation from Sister Mary Ignatius as the source of schoolroom angst. Just go to a Christopher Durang play if you don't know what I'm talking about. While no one is getting excommunicated and the lesser penalty of denying a person Communion is very rare, bishops and cardinals are talking about these "options" more than ever. The week before last, Pope Benedict got dragged into the debate during an impromptu press conference on "Shepherd One," the plane taking him to Brazil for a state visit.
The pope was asked if legislators who voted to legalize abortion in Mexico City should be excommunicated. It is part of the code [of canon law]. End of story? Within moments the papal spokesperson, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, was walking the pope's remarks back for reporters, noting that the Mexicans hadn't yet taken any action.
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