yup .. that's why it was disappointing to see it had happened .. i was thinking .. guessing .. no Pope, early on anyway, could totally ignore something so basic as preaching against one of the church's fundamental teachings, and wondering how much influence Pope Francis could have had, or had, in the Reynold's case .. just picked this one up from Andrew Sullivan which at a glance goes toward some of the stuff in my mind ..
----- The letter, a copy of which NCR obtained and translated, accuses Reynolds of heresy (Canon 751) and determined he incurred latae sententiae excommunication for throwing away the consecrated host or retaining it “for a sacrilegious purpose” (Canon 1367). It also referenced Canon 1369 (speaking publicly against church teaching) in its review of the case. -----
I don’t know anyone who believed that Francis had just junked canon law, or had somehow come to believe that violating the Eucharist was something the Church should ever tolerate. I have never written or believed that. What I have written is that it is impossible to read the America interview without seeing it as a blunt repudiation of the last thirty reactionary, legalistic, and failed years of the church hierarchy.
And after the initial denial, some theocons are adjusting. Their adjustment is a form of revolt. In a splenetic tirade against today’s Jesuits, George Neumayr argues that Francis must be corrected .. http://spectator.org/archives/2013/09/25/when-paul-corrected-peter :
----- For the good of the faith, laity, clergy, bishops, and particularly powerful cardinals should start playing Paul to Francis’s Peter, as his culturally conditioned liberalism threatens to undermine the unity and orthodoxy of the faith.
Peter snapped out of his pandering phase; let’s hope Francis does the same. Even if given the most charitable reading, Pope Francis’s recent interview with Jesuit publications was alarming in its spirit-of-Vatican II liberalism … It is not petty, disrespectful, or un-Catholic to object to the liberal parts of his agenda. Indeed, the need for a St. Paul to correct him grows with each passing week as his pontificate emboldens the Church’s enemies and undercuts her friends and most loyal members. -----
Bingo! The reactionaries determined to fuse Catholicism with the Republican right are rightly rattled. But note the pivot. They were only recently the relentless advocates of total obedience to papal authority. Now they’re calling for a mutiny among “laity, clergy, bishops, and particularly powerful cardinals” against the Pope. Well, at least their denial is wearing off, I suppose.
(Photo: Pope Francis greets sick people as he arrives at the Marian Shrine of Bonaria on September 22, 2013 in Cagliari, Italy. By Vatican Pool/Getty.)
Pope Francis Excommunicates Priest Who Backed Women’s Ordination and Gays
Despite his reforming attitude, Francis still supports traditional doctrine
By Elizabeth Dias @elizabethjdiasSept. 25, 2013 100 Comments
Spencer Platt / Getty Images
Pope Francis drives through the crowds during the Inauguration Mass for the Pope in St Peter's Square on March 19, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.
Father Greg Reynolds of Melbourne, Australia found out last week that Pope Francis had excommunicated him, and he was shocked. Granted, Reynolds holds less than traditional views in the Catholic Church—he supports women’s ordination and gay marriage—but Pope Francis has more than hinted .. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/catholics-react-pope-remarks-gays-abortion-20333735 .. lately that the Church needs to adopt a new tone towards those social issues. “I am very surprised that this order has come under his watch; it seems so inconsistent with everything else he has said and done,” Reynolds told the National Catholic Reporter .. http://ncronline.org/news/global/australian-priest-advocate-womens-ordination-excommunicated , a widely read source for Catholic news.
Excommunication is a severe penalty in the Catholic Church. Today it is the church’s harshest punishment, and it means an individual can no longer participate in the sacraments or worship ceremonies, much less ever officiate a mass again. Reynolds’ letter of excommunication itself contained no official explanation for his excommunication. It accused Reynolds of heresy and claimed he had violated the sacrament of the Eucharist.
Pope Francis has made waves lately for advocating for necessary reforms .. http://world.time.com/2013/09/19/the-four-reform-themes-of-pope-francis-in-new-interview/ .. in the Catholic Church, especially when it comes to gays and women. While the Supreme Pontiff does have to sign off on excommunications, Francis may not be as directly responsible for Reynolds’ dismissal as it might initially appear. Excommunication processes tend to take a long time, even years, and Reynolds was likely already tagged for removal before Francis took office in March. His non-traditional views stem back years. He preached in support of women’s ordination in 2010, resigned as a priest in the Melbourne Archdiocese in 2011, and yet continued to practice as a priest without the authority and backing of the church. He then founded a group called “Inclusive Catholics” for people who also support women’s ordination and gay marriage.
However, the announcement serves as a reminder that despite the recent excitement over Pope Francis’ reforming attitudes and calls for increased compassion for women and gays, he has not changed any actual Catholic doctrine, nor is he likely to do so. Women’s ordination and gay marriage are still closed doors. The Pope, as they say, is still Catholic. Elizabeth Dias @elizabethjdias
Elizabeth is a writer-reporter in TIME's Washington bureau. Follow her on Twitter @elizabethjdias.
.. lol .. all here know my position re religion, the Catholic church and Popes in general .. also toward wars and American foreign policy in the past and in general .. still (aside, love the fact Obama is talking to Rouhani) .. without having spent much time on Pope Francis, since the last time, i'm thinking kinda along the lines of my position toward Obama then and now .. of having a more realistic position on Obama's election than obviously some who turned against him so quickly had .. some of those are now, as you know, very unhappy with Obama on about everything he does .. unreal expectation, you know what i mean .. lol, can't help just now but see some little parallel with the positions of Pope Francis and Obama as far as much of that goes .. one thing for sure .. certainly there is a recognizable difference between the two and the ones, that respectively, were in the two positions before .. bottom line .. on balance as individuals .. i appreciate them both being with us today ..
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