On Getting Kicked Out

This item was picked up by several sources today; I happened to see it at VOA News:

Pope Supports Excommunication for Lawmakers Who Legalize Abortion
By VOA News
09 May 2007

Pope Benedict XVI says he supports the excommunication of politicians who legalize abortion.

He spoke to reporters aboard his plane Wednesday on his way to Brazil for his first South American visit.

The pope was discussing a recent vote by lawmakers to legalize abortion in Mexico City. Pope Benedict said the local Catholic leaders' response, that lawmakers who approved the measure should be excommunicated, is supported by church doctrine.

And so on.

Those who know me know that I joke frequently--morbidly, even--about "when the boys in Rome get around to kicking me out." For, truth be told, though I identify myself as a Catholic and, I suspect, always will, there are plenty of points of departure between me and the One True Faith.

Abortion--more correctly, abortion rights--is one of them.

I suppose there will be those who think my position is untenable, even contraditory; certainly there will be the inevitable chorus of "Youcants" ("You can't be a Catholic and think/vote/speak/feel that way"). But I think it's pretty straightforward: I'm against abortion, but I support a woman's right to seek one, in keeping with her own conscience, health, and economic circumstances.

Whenever I'm at Mass and we're supposed to pray for all the aborted fetuses (or "babies," as they insist), I pray instead for a world in which no woman would feel so cornered that abortion is her only, or least-worst, option. Somehow, I can't make myself believe that the draconian under-no-circumstances approach favored by the right-wingnuts (especially those dark forces that have overthrown the South Dakota legislature in recent times) is going to "fix" this problem. Certainly cramming "abstinence only" programs down schools' throats isn't going to take care of it (and hasn't been). And the strange idea that NOT teaching kids about sex will prevent them from engaging in same (and making babies, and possibly pursuing abortions) is just so outre' that it's barely possible to comment on in any intelligent fashion.

No, the "solution," if there is one, is undoubtedly a combination of education and a cultural and religious acceptance of, even approval of, birth control. (Not just "natural family planning" but the whole nine yards.)

Anyhow, the above is one of the reasons I fully expect the aforementioned boys in Rome to eventually punch my ticket; others include my insisting on being a Democrat, and voting for Democratic candidates including those who--gasp!--sometimes disagree with Rome; and because I believe that conscience trumps the guy in the pulpit every time ("Man has the right to act according to his conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1782). I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting right now.

But that does bring me back to the question of excommunication.

This is a saber that too many bishops--and now the pope himself--seem happy to rattle whenever they're confronted with someone who won't toe the line. I suppose they're within their rights to do so (indeed, one of my cornerstones is respecting the right of churches to make their own rules and policies). But I have to wonder how effective a weapon it really is.

No doubt I would feel bad if I were to be kicked out of my church; despite my having the temerity to think my own thoughts about things, the fact is that I do love my church and hold its leaders' pronouncements in high regard. Note that that does not mean I always or even frequently agree; it means that what priests, bishops, and popes have to say is definitely worth listening to and considering.

But beyond having my feelings hurt, what would excommunication in the 21st century mean--to me or to anybody else?

My reference above to the One True Faith is, of course, comical--although I have a prejudice toward Christianity, and toward Catholicism, I don't believe there is one true faith. I certainly don't believe that only Catholics have a passkey for the pearly gates, and indeed I know a number of people who consider themselves "good Catholics" but whom I think are definitely south-bound in the Hereafter. The idea that priests, bishops, and popes hold "the keys to Heaven" and that you go against them at peril of your immortal soul is pretty quaint. I'm pretty sure--indeed, I'm counting on--those decisions being made by God and not any of his human emissaries, no matter how well-meaning or well-placed they may be.

So kicking me out is not tantamount to sending me to hell. What does it do?

I guess there would be certain social avenues that would close to me. I couldn't, for instance, join the Knights of Columbus. But I've never so much as looked into membership, so I don't consider that much of a punishment. I also couldn't buy financial services from their insurance agents, but, again, that's something I've never considered. Probably some "good" Catholics would cease to associate with me, but if that's their attitude I don't imagine I would consider it an insurmountable loss.

Come right down to it, the worst part would probably be having to find a new church. Of course, I already hang out at my wife's Lutheran church, so as far as the "weekly dose" is concerned, no problem. But the fact is, even after 25 years, Lutheran churches to me still feel like the in-laws' house: I am welcomed there, and it is a home but not my home. Catholic church--specifically, the Mass--feels like home.

(There are also some significant theological issues for me, but that's another subject.)

So maybe the logical step would the the Episcopal Church--the middle way. And I must say, I find much to admire there--their nice, open, liberal point of view...at least, in some dioceses, and I'm not sure if the local one is one of them. The seismic activity within that denomination gives me pause--specifically, since I live in such a conservative part of the world. I can't shake the notion that I would decide to sign up with the Episcopalians...and then immediately the local diocese would cut ties with the US church--because of all the things I find admirable in Episcopalianism--and hook up with some uber-conservative bishop in Africa or someplace. No thanks. If I want hidebound, I can stick with Rome.

Of the three Episcopal churches in my current locale, one was until fairly recently affiliated with the American Catholic Church. I had always meant to pop over there one Sunday to see what was what, but I never did. And I noticed three or four years ago that the sign now indicated they were a church of the Episcopal Church. From what I've read of the American Catholic Church, however, it seems like it might be up my street--think Roman Catholic Church without Rome, if you can imagine that. Same sacraments, same traditions, same liturgy (I think)...but a different hierarchy. I especially like the ACC's expressed commitment to the ideals of Vatican II, ideals that I feel my church has been turning its back on these past 20 or 25 years. But this is an extremely small denomination--I count only 13 parishes listed on their web page, and I suspect that might be part of the reason the local parish gave up and threw in with the ECUSA--the nearest of which to me is in Wisconsin. So, not a practical choice.

The careful reader will have noted in all of the above that I never allude to my packing my kit and striking out, but only to my getting the bum's rush. I can envision a couple of scenarios that might impel me toward the exits, but to date I have not encountered that "last straw" where the OTF is concerned. Naturally, there are things about my church that annoy me, disappoint me, anger me. I have no reason to suspect I would feel any different anyplace else. (Quite the contrary, in fact: I have experienced these same emotions at the Lutheran churches to which my wife has belonged, and so I conclude that there is no Perfect Place until such time as I decide to build my own...which sounds like more work than it's worth!) I have often made this analogy: There are times when our families disappoint us, anger us, hurt us. Do we abandon them? Generally not. Well, I consider my church as much a part of my family as my "real" relatives by blood or marriage. (I think that's why anti-Catholic slurs bother me so much. I may be mad at my brother, but your slandering him is likely to earn you a poke in the eye.)

And so, for the foreseeable future, I anticipate staying more or less put. (I do tend to bound from parish to parish, which is also frowned upon in Catholic circles. Whatever. Add it to the list.)

But I do wonder still, what precisely is the weapon these ecclesiastic types think they're wielding when they call for the excommunication of those who disagree with them?

Mostly, to me, it seems to come down to a big inconvenience and not much more.