Then why does the church have excommunications? Can you excommunicate without a judgment call?
Excommunications (rare and a very grave occurrences) are for people who no longer want the succor of the church and indicate this with various words and deeds....in effect, denouncing their membership in the church.
Now Teddy did not do this-—he kept going to church, attended Mass, wrote to the the Pope asking for forgiveness, affirmed his Catholicity.........he did all the things a Catholic in good standing would do. He never reounced the church, nor did he ever say things like he was right and the church was wrong.
As far as the temporal church was concerned, Teddy was entitled to a Catholic burial.
What happens in the hereafter........that’s between him and God.
Now if a sinner, at the hour of death, asked God to save him-—God would do so.