Comments on: Revoking Excommunications

By: LarryD

LarryD — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:49:06 +0000

I’m not all that familiar with the case of Sr Mary MacKillop. I believe that for an excommunication to be revoked, the person ex-communicated would have to repent (as a minimum, at least) and be accepted back into the Church. This is what several of the members of a parish in St Louis MO did (I can’t recall the parish name – but it was Polish, I think).

Once a person is dead, that isn’t obviously the method. Perhaps the ex-communicated person’s cause gets spearheaded by a group of persons (much like the cause for canonization) to have the circumstances investigated and then a ruling issued – probably similar to an appeal.

By: Theodora Ranelli

Theodora Ranelli — Fri, 15 May 2009 05:09:12 +0000

Joan of Arc is the patron saint of those who have been wronged by the Church…so that says somethin’. I don’t know if she was formally excommunicated or not, but she was cast out and then brought back in……

By: kay46

kay46 — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:31 +0000

I believe Mother Theodore Guerrin (I don’t know how to spell her name–she founded the Sisters of Providence in Indiana) was excommunicated by the bishop in Indiana & re-communicated (is that a word?) by her “home bishop” back in France…It is interesting, isn’t it?

By: Bill Przylucki

Bill Przylucki — Thu, 14 May 2009 02:51:17 +0000

I think these are some great questions…Was Joan of Arc excommunicated, or “simply” burned at the stake for being a heretic? (I guess another question is, in those days, was death not as bad as excommunication?) I would think you can’t beatify an excommunicated person.

Also, can somebody explain what Mary MacKillop actually was accused of that lead to excommunication?