Abortion and excommunication

It is a busy blogging day, which means that I probably will not post again at least until Monday.

In a post earlier this week, His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, Departs for Brazil, I mentioned that when asked about the Mexican bishops' response to a law passed by the Mexico City legislature, allowing unrestricted access to abortion during the first tri-mester of pregnancy, Pope Benedict, in supporting the bishops, minced no words. Last night in RCIA we spent a good twenty minutes discussing the Holy Father's comments and the U.S. media's attempt to apply what he said about one specific situation (i.e., Mexico City) more broadly (i.e., the United States). Dr. Edward Peters, JD, JCD, professor of Canon Law at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, the seminary of the Archdiocese of Detroit, seeks to clarify the Pope's comments in light of the ruckus these comments, made aboard the airplane during his flight to Brazil, have (predictably) caused.

Dr. Peters is the author of several books, the most recent of which is a book on excommunication - Excommunication and the Catholic Church: Straight Answers to Tough Questions. On his blog In Light of the Law, in a post named Legislating in mid-air? First thoughts: possible, but not likely , he clarifies what has become an entangled mess.

(Photograph: REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker)