Quantcast
Published On: Wed, Oct 2nd, 2013

Pope Francis excommunicates pro-gay marriage Fr. Greg Reynolds for ‘heresy’

Pope Francis recently encouraged Christians to stop “obsessing” over moral issues like homosexuality and abortion and called for a greater study of the role of women in the church.

Pope Francis I  March 2013 photo by Casa Rosada via wikipedia

Pope Francis I March 2013 photo by Casa Rosada via wikipedia

However, this week, Fr. Greg Reynolds of Melbourne, Australia, told the National Catholic Reporter he believes Pope Francis recently excommunicated him for his vocal support of the gay community and women’s ordination.

Reynolds says Pope Francis sent him a letter dated May 31 and written in Latin—a letter that gave no official explanation for the excommunication but that accused Reynolds of heresy and claimed he had violated the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Because Reynolds doesn’t know the Latin language, Melbourne archdiocese canon lawyer Fr. John Salvano translated the letter for him.
 
The news came as a huge shock to Reynolds.
 
“The Vatican never contacted me and it gives no explanation,” Reynolds told the National Catholic Reporter. “My excommunication is in the best traditions of the Inquisition. I am very surprised that this order has come under his [Pope Francis’] watch; it seems so inconsistent with everything else he has said and done.

“In times past, excommunication was a huge thing, but today the hierarchy has lost such trust and respect. I’ve come to this position because I’ve followed by conscience on women’s ordination and gay marriage.”

The Catholic Reporter says the order came directly from the Vatican and not from Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart, Reynolds’ former superior. Hart told the newspaper that Reynolds was excommunicated because “after his priestly faculties were withdrawn, he continued to celebrate the Eucharist publicly and preach contrary to the teachings of the church.”

The letter stated that the decree is “a final and unappealable decision and subject to no recourse” and that the decree was “to be imposed on said priest for the good of the Church.” The document was signed by Archbishop Gerhard Muller, prefect for the congregation, and his secretary, Jesuit Archbishop Luis Ladaria.

Excommunication is the harshest penalty the Catholic Church can dole out. It means an individual is no longer allowed to participate in the sacraments or worship ceremonies and can never officiate Mass again.

 

On the DISPATCH: Headlines  Local  Opinion

Subscribe to Weekly Newsletter

* indicates required
/ ( mm / dd ) [ALL INFO CONFIDENTIAL]

About the Author

- Writer and Co-Founder of The Global Dispatch, Brandon has been covering news, offering commentary for years, beginning professionally in 2003 on Crazed Fanboy before expanding into other blogs and sites. Appearing on several radio shows, Brandon has hosted Dispatch Radio, written his first novel (The Rise of the Templar) and completed the three years Global University program in Ministerial Studies to be a pastor. To Contact Brandon email [email protected] ATTN: BRANDON

Displaying 1 Comments
Have Your Say
  1. Pope Francis: Is He Misunderstood By Progressives? says:

    […] would venture to say a big HECK NO! His comments on Capitalism, Gays and moral issues have been the big push of the Progressives. What these Progressives fail to see or […]

Leave a comment

XHTML: You can use these html tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

like_us_on_facebook

 

The Global Dispatch Facebook page- click here

Movie News Facebook page - click here

Television News Facebook page - click here

Weird News Facebook page - click here 

DISPATCH RADIO

dispatch_radio

THE BRANDON JONES SHOW

brandon_jones_show-logo

Archives