Nun excommunicated for allowing abortion to save the life of a mother

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Yep, this aspect is uniform from a theological perspective at least.

And excommunication sounds really horrible, but it's fixable through confession and penance, assume that you accept that you've done something wrong. It's not a permanent state, unless you want it to be basically.

Not sure if it's just 'if you want it' to be. If you truly believe you haven't done wrong, then you're 'stuck' so to speak, as any confession would be invalid and dishonest. *blinks* Holy disappearing post, Batman.

Interesting opinion piece on NPR:

Sister McBride is allowed to return to the church if she confesses, does penance and works with the church to help manage the scandal. I want to tell her this: "Don't confess. Mercy is not a sin." I don't know about Bishop Olmsted's God, but my God is a merciful God. And dogma without mercy is hollow. It makes people capable of great cruelty.

Although the personal story she shares is different in that a doctor allowed her grandmother's unborn child to die and didn't perform a C-section that he thought would kill the woman.

I wonder what Sister McBride will do, but odds are it won't be nearly as public as this whole ordeal has been.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

I wonder what Sister McBride will do, but odds are it won't be nearly as public as this whole ordeal has been.

From my understanding of it, the Church probably wouldn't even have not announced the excommunication if she wasn't in a position of leadership. The fact that she is a religious sister might also have been taken into account when deciding to announce it.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

From my understanding of it, the Church probably wouldn't even have not announced the excommunication if she wasn't in a position of leadership. The fact that she is a religious sister might also have been taken into account when deciding to announce it.

The impression I get is that locally there was some sort of fuss about it and that the bishop there is not just obviously pro-life but like 'don't take communion if you voted for a pro-choice politician' pro-life. (which btw is bullshit.) So combine those two and i suspect you would have gotten the fuss whether or not she was a sister but it makes the whole thing all the more dramatic. It may have been that she didn't go to confession immediately after this situation either... though not sure that even the bishop would know that one way or the other.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

The impression I get is that locally there was some sort of fuss about it and that the bishop there is not just obviously pro-life but like 'don't take communion if you voted for a pro-choice politician' pro-life. (which btw is bullshit.) So combine those two and i suspect you would have gotten the fuss whether or not she was a sister but it makes the whole thing all the more dramatic. It may have been that she didn't go to confession immediately after this situation either... though not sure that even the bishop would know that one way or the other.

Ugh politics in the Church. The whole point of an announcement is supposed to be more of a heads up to not follow the lead of somebody who is not in communion with the Church, not to hold them up as an example.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

*blinks* Holy disappearing post, Batman.

What in the samhell?

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

What in the samhell?

Dunno, UGAalum posted and it went *poof* by the time I replied.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Dunno, UGAalum posted and it went *poof* by the time I replied.

I saw her long post. I didn't think to QFP. LOL.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I saw her long post. I didn't think to QFP. LOL.

There was no earlier long post in this thread by me.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

The one that Drolefile responded to.

I think what she had quoted was the whole post.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

I think what she had quoted was the whole post.

Ok, the long post was in that other thread then. Cool.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Dunno, UGAalum posted and it went *poof* by the time I replied.

Sorry. I posted before I read the whole thread and I basically just duplicated something about excommunication that you said on the first page. It didn't occur to me that my post was up long enough for anyone to have read it.

Sorry.

As far as "if you want it to be", you're probably right in terms of being true to your conscience and invalid confession. But I don't feel as much heartache about the idea of wanting to be in full communion with the church if you aren't down with its teaching in actuality. There's got to be some room for Catholics to sort of look at the church as horribly flawed human political institution while still loving the sacraments, but if you don't really accept what the church teaches about medical procedures and pregnancy, especially if you are a director of care in a Catholic medical facility, how horrible should excommunication from the church really be? How in communion were you before the decree?

I'm not judging the nun particularly, but I feel like her relationship to the church is pretty much in her hands, rather than that she was victimized or punished unfairly.