What I don’t understand is why the Pope is being so soft about it.
Why doesn’t he just say, “I’m the Pope and based on my authority as the Bishop of Rome, Supreme Vicar of Christ on Earth, etc., hereby state that the following politicians who have supported abortion in the past are excommunicated and will not be allowed into the church again until they repent.”
Then list the names.
Because a lot of states would move to outlaw the RCC in particular, and orthodox Christianity in general. I think the showdown is going to happen sooner or later in any case.
Part of the hesitation is based on the current understanding of “collegiality,” developed largely after Vatican II and particularly by JP II. The concept here is that bishops have God-given authority to be rulers in their own dioceses, and should not be micro-managed by the pope or even directed in what to do unless there are overriding doctrinal or pastoral considerations that force Rome’s intervention. The concept is cerainly a valid one, and has existed all along, but the problem is that, over the last 40 years or so, Rome has been reluctant to intervene in all but the most egregious cases of episcopal malfeasance or irresponsibility. The bar has been set way too high, but this is beginning to change. Benedict is sending a clear signal here that he expects bishops to take a tougher stance with regard to “Catholic” politicians such as these. Indeed, my take on all of this is that he is sending them the message that he is not above “embarrassing” them publicly into doing their jobs, and that there are limits on how much latitude bishops can be given in the name of collegiality.
Western bishops in general, and American bishops in particular, have often acted more like spoiled children than successors to the Apostles. Fortunately, the generation most prone to this behavior is coming up on retirement age now, and they’ll soon be gone. The next generation, for the most part, shows marked improvement in “quality.” When they demonstrate that they can teach, preach and rule like Catholic bishops, Rome will afford them the respect and free-hand that collegiality was meant to convey. But, until they’re finally gone, the Jadot crop of 60’s revolutionaries will increasingly be dealt with like the overgrown children they too often are. One hopes this goes double for the likes of Cardinal Mahony!