"refusing them Communion would be, not the first, but more than likely, the last stage in a serious of steps"
I am somewhat at a loss of words. Just how many steps are there? For 43 years Ted Kennedy has been pushing abortion legislation in the Senate. For 43 years the Catholic Church has rebuked his point of view. He has gotten divorced (I know annulled - but I think it's more of a payoff) and remarried - with little rebuke. He pushes embryonic stem cell research and receives little rebuke. Will anything ever be done?
Looking at the Catholic politicians of Fame (yes there are some really good ones that follow their faith, but they are generally ignored or their faith not normally mentioned) we have Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi and Arnold Schwartzeneger (sorry about what must be a spelling error in his name). And the only reason we even know Arnold's religion is that he married into the Kennedy clan (religion based on marriage not faith probably). So I'll exclude him from the example (although including him wouldn't change it at all).
Catholics are taught to emulate the lives of the Saints, hence they even take the name of a Saint during Confirmation/Chrismation. This is all well and good, but in reality most of us look to current real world examples of how to live our lives. Outside of Pope Benedict and the late Pope JPII, how many famous Catholics do most people know besides Kennedy and Pelosi (we can thank the media for that)?
In looking at the Catholic Church's response to Kennedy and Pelosi (henceforth K&P) we see little to no action (if there has been any it's been kept a pretty good secret). It feels (yes I know feelings) as if most of the Catholic Episcopate must support their views even though teaching states otherwise. How could they continue if they didn't have supported views? It's begun to feel like the prohibitions against the abhorrant actions are only just on the books and can't be remove because of tradition, but no longer because of practice.
For the sake of the faithful, for the unborn innocents, for those seeking the truth, it is time that the Catholic Church publically excommunicate K&P (and maybe others). Fair enough, they should be given a three day notice to publicly recant their views before such an action is taken.
To keep this in context, I must state that I am not Catholic, but have never enjoyed bashing the RCC, except for serious matters of doctrinal disagreement (done respectfully) and purely humorously (where that should be evident). This however seems to weigh heavily even on the Pontiff in Rome. Is this not a matter of Faith and Morals? Does he not have a true obligation to keep his flock together (if his bishops won't - with some exception as noted in the article). This lack of action makes the RCC look like a closet supporter of evil.
This is the orthodox response. The real question is whether or not the bishop means it. It seems clear that some bishops never intend to go through these steps, while others have shown their readiness to do so.
The Bible as well as canon law and the Pope's letter to the American bishops when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger all say the same thing. Counsel a sinner privately to start with, and then if necessary work all the way up to a public confrontation. There are several ends to be kept in view: trying to save the guilty politician's soul, avoiding public scandal, and avoiding a watering down and compromising of the Church's teachings. If the politician refuses private counseling, then at some prudent stage it's the bishop's duty to make the matter public. Especially when, as in the case of Kennedy or Pelosi, the politician has already made the issue public.
So, nothing wrong with what this bishop says, if he really means it, as he seems to do.