Threat Of Excommunication

[Good Friday]

[quote][b]Dave writes:[/b]
I dunno ... remember Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, NE?[/quote]
Now seems like a good time to point out that Rev. Bruskewitz' excommunication hasn't affected Call to Action at all, especially not nationwide -- but not even in his own diocese. Call to Action still enjoys a strong membership in Nebraska.

I fail to see why a church that is supposed to be the "pillar and foundation of truth" has to threaten people with ostracism to get them to obey the truth. Is it really the church's contention that people are so opposed to the truth that they have to be continually threatened in order to accept it? That seems a bit ridiculous to me. I know many people who are honestly seeking truth and would be happy to find it; they would not need to be threatened in order to accept [i]actual[/i] truth.

[Aloysius]

if they openly reject Truth and work against it they cannot consider themselves Catholic. The Church formally excommunicating them would just be stating a spiritual fact about them that they have already brought on by refusing to accept the Truth. If they repent of their actions against the Truth, they are recommunicated and the Church can formally declare them as such if they run into her loving arms.

[Aloysius]

also, one big thing about excommunication, one of the main purposes is for the sake of those not being excommunicated. if this person continues to be held up as a Catholic in good standing and other Catholics see that they begin to think they do not have to believe Divinely revealed truths either.

Pax Amorque Christi

[qfnol31]

Wouldn't it also really help out the person excommunicated by keeping them from bringing even worse upon themselves by receiving Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament?

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

Should the Church excommunicate anyone? Here is what St. Thomas Aquinas wrote in his Summa Theologica.
[url="http://www.newadvent.org/summa/502102.htm"]http://www.newadvent.org/summa/502102.htm[/url]

[Ed Normile]

Agreed, people excommunicate themselves. I doubt an official proclamation by the church hierarchy would make a difference to these people either, they would probably just find another parish where they are not know and go there. I feel a lot of these are influenced by evil thinking they are working to reform the church's views which they feel are wrong somehow. Look at organizations such as the catholic branch of G.LA.D. active homesexuals who beleive Jesus loves them any way and try to change church views on homosexuality.

ed

[Hilde]

lol old thread

[Bennn]

I agree that many people don't seem to feel threatened by excommunication anymore. Or they simply don't know that it still exists. It should also be noted that there are different grades of excommunication. I'm not too well informed on this but I believe latae sentiae is a self inflicted excommunication, by consciously opposing important Catholic truths. But there are also cases where the Pope can actively excommunicate someone or a group. He has received this power from Christ when He gave him the keys of Heaven, to bind and unbind. Such an excommunication can only be lifted by the Pope. (correct me if I'm wrong about anything)

It all may seem harsh but it is necessary in order to protect the faithful from evil and destructive doctrine on the one hand, and to inspire the sinner to repentance on the other hand. Clear lines should be drawn between orthodoxy and heresy, for the salvation of souls.

This desensitizing of moral conscience, with the result of not caring about being threatened with excommunication, has it's sorrowful origin in the denial of objective Truth and the welcoming of subjectivistic lies that play with the human mind with 'affection' as their weapon. People started believing that they can 'feel' what is right, rather than needing substantial dogma to define what is good and what is evil. This 'feel good' religion is one of the most grievous tricks the devil has ever played in human history.

Pax Domini,
Ben

[iheartjp2]

Largely, I think excommunication seems to have lost its meaning in America due to the nature of America: a free, Democratic state.

In Europe or even in the US when the church had a lot of authority and was more broadly respected, it did mean something (largely for more political reasons than for reasons of the soul).

[Jesus_lol]

and back in the day, being excommunicated basically turned you into a shunned, friendless hermit. now that the Church isnt the be all and end-all of everyones lives, excommunication doesnt have the same far reaching social consequences.

[iheartjp2]

[quote name='Jesus_lol' date='13 May 2010 - 08:18 PM' timestamp='1273796334' post='2110191']
and back in the day, being excommunicated basically turned you into a shunned, friendless hermit. now that the Church isnt the be all and end-all of everyones lives, excommunication doesnt have the same far reaching social consequences.
[/quote]

This is true...sort of.

Usually when someone in power was excommunicated, it got them to do what the church wanted them to do.

[MissyP89]

If someone gets themselves excommunicated in the first place, they usually couldn't care less about what the Church thinks. I've never known someone to be excommunicated and then go, "Gee, I should change."

It's sad, but also true.

[BG45]

[quote name='MissyP89' date='13 May 2010 - 08:41 PM' timestamp='1273797694' post='2110208']
If someone gets themselves excommunicated in the first place, they usually couldn't care less about what the Church thinks. I've never known someone to be excommunicated and then go, "Gee, I should change."

It's sad, but also true.
[/quote]

This. When I was in RCIA I was asked if I knew anyone who could be my sponsor in the parish. I didn't know anyone whose actions hadn't automatically excommunicated them, and none of those people cared.

[Bennn]

True. Here almost everyone is baptised in the Catholic Church, receives Confirmation and the blessed Eucharist, yet you will pretty much be 'excommunicated' by society here if you oppose contraception, sodomy and dare to use the term 'sin' in public. It is one thing that our views are not respected by those who are not part of the Church, I don't respect their views either. But the fact that the majority of those who style themselves Catholic (at least around these parts) accuse those who are orthodox in their faith of 'bigotry' and 'being stuck in the Middle-Ages' is very disturbing to me.

I guess it all has to happen this way for the Scriptures to be fulfilled. The world needs much prayer.

Pax Domini,
Ben