[Ann Archy]

Sorry...but this is an AWFUL idea........Punish Fr. JENKIN....not the students.....or other faithful teachers and office people.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Ann Archy, I am concerned that you see this as a punishment of individuals. I may be wrong here (and if I am, canonists, set me straight) but as I understand it, the local bishop absolutely authorizes who can say Masses, and where they are said.

Visiting priests from other dioceses, for instance, are not supposed to say Mass without the local Bishop's permission. This is not an insult to visiting priests. I can't have a priest buddy say Mass in my garage; not without the bishop's permission. And this is not an insult to my garage. It's just an acknowledgment of the local bishop's jurisdiction.

If the ND leadership goes into a mode of direct defiance by rejecting both the USCCB requirement AND the local bishop's order that such people as Obama must not be honored, ND as an institution has become outlaw.

That doesn't mean evrybody in it is excommunicated or damned or any such thing; it just means when they go to Mass, they must go to Mass in an authorized place, because Masses on campus are no longer authorized.

The good thing about withdrawing permission for Mass on campus is that nobody is deprived of the Sacraments; only a place is restricted.

No punishment for an individual.

But a clear-as-daylight that ND as an institution has incurred due penalty for direct defiance of lawfully constituted authority.

[utahagen]

The innocent people at Notre Dame will be inconvenienced by an interdict, but they can attend churches within a short walk of campus. I imagine there are many good people at Notre Dame who will be glad to accept the inconvenience for the sake of the message being delivered to Jenkins. The Bishop must take decisive action in this case.