The fact that Hitler, baptized a Roman Catholic, (and marrying Eva von Braun in a Roman Catholic ceremony right before death? I'm not certain that is true...) wasn't ever formally excommunicated really does bother me... The latae sententiae argument notwithstanding, it seems a cop-out. I mean by definition every heretic of any kind has a self-made latae sententiae excommunication BEFORE formal public excommunication, by default...excommunication is as much for the sake of the Body as it is for the person who is thrown out. The biblical pattern of I Corinthians shows excommunication's purpose is to purge the Church and hopefully to bring the excommunicant into repentance... Latae sententiae excommunication does neither of those two things. For example, I'm sure there are many uninformed (or ill-informed) Roman Catholics, otherwise faithful, who are influenced by the pro-choice Catholic arguments... however if they knew these were no longer Catholic, they would not be so influenced. Similarly there probably are even believing otherwise faithful Catholics who, due to liberal brain washing, are "pro-choice," who, given a choice between formal, public, excommunication and promoting abortion would choose to abandon their pro abort ways... So why is the Church silent?
The Hitler issue was recently brought up by an intelligent friend recently (not a Catholic basher), and it does strike me as bizarre...