My blood also boils to read about the unholy depredations of Mme Secretary Kathleen Sebelius against the Catholic faith in which she was raised. Once baptized, one may not effectively repudiate that faith. Attempted renunciation of Catholic beliefs and engaging in persistently obstinate behavior contrary to Church teaching simply render one an apostate. One then nonetheless remains a Catholic but is no longer in spiritual communion with the Church. I could find nothing more recent than this March 24, 2009 article that specifically discusses her actual situation vis-à-vis the Church hierarchy:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009.../?page=all
As most everyone knows, Mme Sebelius was governor of Kansas prior to being nominated as HHS Secretary by the apostate Muslim Barack Hussein Obama, whose tool of evil she has now become. The record reveals that as governor she had already instituted many anti-life policies in that state which she now is seeking to implement at the national level, such as unlimited contraception and abortifacient contraception as well as abortion on demand. The Archbishop of Kansas City, Joseph Naumann, took up the matter with [now] Raymond Cardinal Burke, currently Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, but then Archbishop of St. Louis. Cardinal Burke stated at that time that Mme Sebelius "should not approach the altar for Communion in the United States" and commented further, "...[a]fter pastoral admonition, she obstinately persists in serious sin." Evidently, Archbishop Naumann also entered into discussions with Donald P. Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, DC where she currently resides. It is not known exactly what the content of those discussions was since those talks were not made public. I would consider Cardinal Burke's published remarks as placing her under interdict (i.e., prohibiting any priest from administering communion to her), but I do not know if he possesses jurisdiction in the matter or whether the bishop of the diocese in which she resides must render a formal declaration to that effect. It would not seem that she has been excommunicated
latae sententiae, that is, automatically excommunicated by reason of having committed an act that has been declared by the Holy See to result in automatic excommunication such as formal heresy. Cardinal Burke's remarks almost quote verbatim the 1983 Code of Canon Law, Canon 915, "those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty
and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to Holy Communion" [
my emphasis].
Father John Zuhlsdorf on his website "Fr. Z's Blog" also expressed great indignation at her disingenuous and mendacious remark in her statement transmitting the regulations that "scientists have abundant evidence that
birth control has significant health benefits for women and their families..." [
Father Z's emphasis]. That in itself should constitute direct
a priori evidence of an offense worthy of formal excommunication. I don't know what the process is, but I do wonder whether the faithful can petition the Church hierarchy to formally excommunicate someone and have them declared
anathema. If anyone on this forum knows the answer, please inform us all. I, for one, would be only too happy to write to whatever ecclesiastical authorities necessary to expedite such a process. I can't readily imagine another case in which such an action would be more well-deserved. Personally, I believe that it would send a powerful signal to other renegade Catholics in public office who routinely deny and usurp the magisterial teachings of the Church as a committed part of their agenda. I did find this description of the ceremony declaring someone to be
anathema (an official form of major excommunication) in the
Catholic Encyclopedia-New Advent, which procedure is evidently still in effect, though seldom if ever used in these days
Anathema remains a major excommunication which is to be
promulgated with great solemnity. A formula for this ceremony
was drawn up by Pope Zachary (741-52) in the chapter
Debent
duodecim sacerdotes, Cause xi, quest. iii. The Roman Pontifical
reproduces it in the chapter
Ordo excommunicandi et absolvendi,
distinguishing three sorts of excommunication: minor
excommunication [...]; major excommunication, pronounced by
the Pope in reading a sentence; and anathema, or the penalty
incurred by crimes of the gravest order, and solemnly
promulgated by the Pope. In passing this sentence, the pontiff
[...] pronounces the formula of anathema which ends with these
words:
'Wherefore in the name of God the All-powerful, Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost, of the Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and
of all the saints, in virtue of the power which has been given us of
binding and loosing in Heaven and on earth, we deprive N--
[her]self and all [her] accomplices and all [her] abettors of the
Communion of the Body and Blood of Our Lord, we separate [her]
from the society of all Christians, we exclude [her] from the bosom
of our Holy Mother the Church in Heaven and on earth, we declare
[her] excommunicated and anathematized and we judge [her]
condemned to eternal fire with Satan and his angels and all the
reprobate, so long as [she] will not burst the fetters of the demon,
do penance and satisfy the Church; we deliver [her] to Satan to
mortify [her] body, that [her] soul may be saved on the day of
judgment.'
Whereupon all the assistants respond: "
Fiat, fiat, fiat." ["So be it,
so be it, so be it."]
As noted, of course, she can repent of her sins and errors and be reconciled with the Church, either before or after excommunication and/or anathematization. There is a process whereby an excommunicated person can do that and the sentence be lifted. Let us pray to God and to his sainted, ever-blessed Virgin Mother that Mme Sebelius will see the light of Christ and choose to end this soul-destructive course she is on, to do penance and to amend her ways.
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