[fwdude]

Why does the news article label these people as Catholic?

Then why doesn't the RC church excommunicate; an act that rarely ever happens?

[markomalley]

Then why doesn't the RC church excommunicate; an act that rarely ever happens?

Excommunication is a topic that a lot of non-Catholics don't understand (along with a lot of Catholics).

A couple of misconceptions:

1. Excommunication does not render a person non-Catholic. Once you are baptized a Catholic (or received into the Church after baptism), you are a Catholic. Period. End of Story.
2. Excommunication is not the equivalent to an Amish shunning.

Excommunication is what is known as a "medicinal" penalty. Its goal is to lead the individual to repentance and eventual reconciliation with the Church. Excommunication prevents the excommunicated from receiving the sacraments prior to the excommunication being lifted. In other words, a person may not receive communion, may not be absolved of their sins, may not be married, may not be ordained, and so on and so forth (obviously, this includes ministering the sacraments in the case of ordained clergy who are excommunicated). (Note: in the case of imminent death, the excommunication can automatically be lifted).

There are two types of excommunication: latæ sentinæ and ferendæ sentinæ. The first is automatic. When a person is excommunicated latæ sentinæ, the very doing of the act results in an automatic excommunication. For example, a woman who has an abortion is excommunicated statim ipso facto...at the very moment she has the abortion. On the other hand, a cleric who lives in concubinage could potentially be excommunicated, but only after a canonical trial: that type of excommunication is known as a ferendæ sentinæ excommunication.

Formerly, there were two degrees of excommunication. One of them was known as excommunication Vitandi. The other was known as excommunication Toleranti. The former (vitandi) was a "shunning" like what we, in our normal parlance, call "excommunication." Members of the Church were to avoid all contact with the person who was excommunicated vitandi. Others, who were merely denied access to the sacraments were known as excommunicated toleranti. Generally, only those who were considered a danger to the Faith (such as notorious heretics) were excommunicated vitandi. This concept of two separate degrees of excommunication were suppressed by Pius IX in his 1869 Papal Bull, Apostolicae Sedis Moderationi.

Bottom line is that these people may well be excommunicated...but that doesn't prevent one from calling himself Catholic.