tough love
By Diogenes (articles ) | March 15, 2008 10:12 AM
Archbishop Burke of St. Louis has announced two more excommunications-- bringing his total to 5 in two days. The pain these moves cause to a conscientious shepherd of souls is evident in the archbishop's public announcements, and his handling of the cases is-- as we have observed before (and leaving aside his unfortunate tendency to split infinitives)-- exemplary.
The St. Louis archdiocese has even posted an informative Q&A section on its web site to clarify the issues surrounding the excommunications. This item in particular is a "must" read:
Q. Aren't excommunications more divisive than uniting?
A. Excommunication is more than a penalty for past actions; it's really an urgent call to reform one's conduct in the future. Excommunication is classified as a "medicinal penalty" by the Church precisely because its main purpose is to bring about reform in the individual. Having certain actions punished by excommunication demonstrates that certain actions are gravely wrong in themselves and cause deep harm both to their perpetrators and to others. The hope of this excommunication, and all excommunications, is that the parties will be awakened to their offenses and seek to return to full communion in the Church.
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Posted by: -
Mar. 17, 2008 3:09 PM ET USA
This action by the bishop clearly defines the teaching of the Church so that proper focus is placed on the seriousness of the violations. No one can claim that such activities get no recognition and therefore are not serious.
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Posted by: -
Mar. 16, 2008 7:44 AM ET USA
I hope the misguided excommunicants don't quote Raymond Chandler on split infinitives.
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Posted by: -
Mar. 15, 2008 3:29 PM ET USA
Please join all Marian Catechists in saying one Memorare a day for the intentions of Archbishop Burke, a true shepherd.
