On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics, a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.
If I disagree with my pastor or bishop on something, am I going to get excommunicated?
First, let’s discuss excommunication, a situation in which a Catholic must have committed what the Catholic Encyclopedia calls a “personal, grievously offensive act.” Those who are excommunicated remain Catholic—but are prohibited from receiving the sacraments and participating in related acts of public worship. Canon law allows only certain church leaders to excommunicate people, or to absolve those who have been excommunicated.
Situations under which Catholics have been excommunicated in modern times include improper ordinations of men and women as well as the people who supported them; heresy; and sects whose central beliefs run counter to Catholic teachings, such as reincarnation.
Excommunication’s intent is not to drive the person away from the Church but to help him or her understand the significance of the sin and to repent. Absolution is always available, no matter the gravity of the offense, when the person shows an understanding of his or her error and a sincere desire for forgiveness.
It follows, then that you can’t get excommunicated simply for expressing an opinion counter to that of your parish priest or bishop. Consider carefully, however, the reasoning that lies below the disagreement. Often, when we better understand another person’s rationale for his or her position, we discover we’re not so very far apart after all.
If, however, you actively work for a position that is directly counter to a Church teaching—if you chose to work at an abortion clinic, for example, or were involved in a human trafficking enterprise—it would be best to seriously consider how this part of your life can possibly be reconciled with your spiritual life, and make a change.
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