Thanks for posting this, G. Every so often, when I begin to believe that it might be a good thing if the Latin Church were to reunite with Orthodoxy and that I might live to see it, I read an article like this one with the inevitable “EXCOMMUNICATE THEM” responses, an article which says so much about Latin theology and ecclesiology, and am reminded why the Orthodox laity, monastics, most hierarchs and the lower clergy want little or nothing to do with formal reunion.
My pleasure.....I think.. ;0)
What people don't seem to want to accept is that the apostate have excommunicated themselves. There doesn't need to be a formal bull to make it true. It just is. Historically, excommunication has been abused mostly for political purposes (see Italy for the last thousand years) and the hierarchy does not want to continue in that way.
The EXOMMUNICATE THEM crowd is really more interested in schadenfreude, IMO, and that's not pastoral at all. There - you deserve it! isn't very Christian. Besides the obstinately sinful would wear it as a badge of honor.
I think what Chaput is saying in many ways is that the deviation from tradition and true teaching has not done us any good and we need to get back to it. He's right, and in places where the bishops have either never been appeasers or are now of the late JPII crops, things are being put aright. It's just going to take some time.