Get the feed!
Church misplaces priorities
Read the article / show / issue that provoked me to write a letter and my response below that or go straight to my response
Date Posted on this Site
January 12, 2007
Publication
Chatham Daily News
Publication Date
January 11, 2007
Published Content
SIR: This year a priest in the diocese of Peterborough was formally excommunicated by the Roman Catholic church after he backed the ordination of female clergy. In the United States there have been priests who were excommunicated for their support of gay rights. In the case of Charles Sylvestre, the Diocese of London is asking the Vatican for a defrockment, which simply means that Mr. Sylvestre can no longer act or perform the duties of a priest.
When a priest is excommunicated, he can no longer take communion, cannot be buried in consecrated ground and loses all rights to the church.
It becomes evident that the Roman Catholic Church considers the rape and molestation of underage girls a lesser crime than the backing of gay rights and the ordination of female clergy.
Jim Rodge
Blenheim
My Response Letter
I do not think the writer fully understands the difference between excommunication and laicization. As a result of this misunderstanding, he attributes improper intentions to and badly maligns the Catholic Church.
People excommunicate themselves by committing or persisting in certain grave sins, which hinder their "communion" with the Church. The Church applies the penalty of excommunication, not to keep the person outside of the Church forever, but as a help in order to have the sinner repent, turn back to God, seek forgiveness, make reparations for the harms caused, and return to full communion with the Church.
Laicization, on the other hand, removes all rights and obligations related to the priesthood, essentially erasing the indelible mark of consecration and returning the priest to the state of life of a layperson. It is more or less permanent. And, because of the seriousness, it requires a longer, more formal process, which may include an ecclesiastical court order or a formal decree from the pope.
Although the writer would prefer that Fr. Sylvestre be prohibited from participating in the Eucharist and suffer other penalties, the Church cannot deny the sacraments to those properly disposed (such as those who repent and are no longer bound by the penalties of excommunication). However, if Fr. Sylvestre has not repented of his sins, even though he has not been excommunicated, he is still forbidden from receiving communion, lest he incur additional mortal sin.
That the Bishop in London is petitioning the Holy See to laicize Fr. Sylvestre, thereby removing him from the priesthood, shows that the Church is committed to justice for those who were abused.
Jason Gennaro
Was my response published?
No
Did I get a response?
No