The one argument that is not made clear (IMO) is that the Bishop did not excommunicate Sr. McBride. He was merely pointing out that she had incurred a 'self-inflicted' excommunication. The Code of Canon Law makes it unequivocally clear that such a sentence is automatic in its effect if someone actively facilitates an abortion. He was asked what the teaching of the church was when the case was brought to his attention. He just affirmed that her action took her outside of the walls of the Church. This rendered her ineligible to fill the position she did with a Catholic Hospital, so he also took the appropriate action. She (as most Catholics) knows that there is a straightforward practice for her to follow if she wants to be reconciled to the Church. We are ALL sinners, and nobody on earth can presume to know anothers' state before God. The Church can only control who belongs within its walls; not speak definitively on anyone's state of grace. As to the peril to her sou...
Reflections from the pastoral ministry of an Evangelical Catholic Priest.