[metmom]

But that disobedience to Scripture and the Canon is so pervasive as to be almost insurmountable.

It still boggles the mind that Catholics can say that a priest, bishop, etc have ex-communicated themselves from the church and are still in a position to offer valid sacraments if their *intent* is right.

And if they are unwilling to enforce Catholic doctrine and teaching, how can their intent be right? They obviously don’t care what the church has to say on those matters.

[Mrs. Don-o]

It's not possible to make the validity of a sacrament dependent on the state of grace of the priest (or deacon or other minister of the sacrament) because it is impossible to be morally sure whether another person is in a state of grace. A person with virtuous exterior may be proud as a pit-hag or a secret atheist or whatever. It has to be dependent on Christ acting --- His virtue and merit --- and not that of the human who is (however sincerely or fraudulently) acting in His name.

That makes sense, I would say.