You need to address that to Salvation and her claim that Ted Kennedy was excommunicated, you can argue Ted Kennedy’s soul with her.
I merely mentioned Ted Kennedy’s fantastic funeral.
ansel12:
There are 2 types of excommunication, the formal one (ferendae sententiae, which is done by a formal process and usually deals with Bishops and Priests who attack Doctrines and Church Authority) and the informal one. Any Catholic persisting in grave sin is in the informal sense, excommunicated latae sentential. Among the acts that incur this type of excommunication are apostasy from the Faith, causing heresy or schism, which a lay person can do and procuring an abortion [which is the one that most link to Kennedy because of his support for abortion rights). Now, whether he ever paid for a family members abortion or had a relationship with a woman and paid for her abortion is something that only God Knows. The other ones are violation of the Eucharist [again a lay Catholic can do that, although God forbid one who does that], attacking the Pope [laity can do that thus be subject to it] and episcopal consecration with Papal approval, absolution of an accomplice and breaching he seal of confession. The last 3 are only applicable to Priests and Bishops.
So if one maintains that Kennedy by his actions and political beliefs was promoting heresy, schism, etc, then one can make the argument that Kennedy was excommunicated in the informal sense. Still, excommunications are meant to correct the individual and lead them back so again, if Kennedy did make a proper Confession before he died, as a Catholic, I believe God’s Grace is big enough to forgive Ted Kennedy, despite all of his failings in life. Given that he did have a Funeral Liturgy, one would think he did on his death bed make a Good Confession with a good Act of Contrition.