In my lifetime I have not seen the Roman Catholic Church discipline or excommunicate politicians and other other powerful people such as Pelosi, Biden, and Kerry who endorse and facilitate abortions, gay marriage, and other behavior the church claims to view as sinful. Pope Benedict publicly appeared with with twice divorced French President Sarkozy and his concubine Carla Bruni during his visit to France in 2008. The same conservative Pope had an audience with the self proclaimed “ardent Catholic” Nancy Pelosi in 2009. In the same year he also met privately with strong abortion and gay marriage advocate VP Joe Biden. John Kerry has also met with the Pope.
Joseph Kennedy, JFK, Bobby Kennedy, and Ted Kennedy were notorious philanderers and adulterers but still received the sacraments and were honored by church leaders at their funeral services. Teddy Kennedy even callously divorced his wife, when she was struggling with alcohol dependency. The church granted him an annulment. Why does the church deny sacraments to common sinners when it honors the wealthy and powerful despite their wickedness? What would Christ, who allowed a whore to wash his feet with her tears, say about denying Communion to sinners? Did he not share the last supper and his blessing with Judas Iscariot and Simon Peter, even though he knew in advance one would sin by betraying him and the other would sin by denying him?
Perhaps Francis is struggling and failing to reconcile the church’s hardline view toward average sinners with its public tolerance of the same sins when committed by the wealthy and powerful. Would Christ accept Teddy Kennedy and Nancy Pelosi at his table while turning away a repentant divorcee who aborted a child? Should a mortal man presume to deny God’s grace to any person? Heavy questions for any Pope, holy man, or lay person of faith to ponder.
Would Christ accept Teddy Kennedy and Nancy Pelosi at his table while turning away a repentant divorcee who aborted a child?
If someone is "repentant," they can go to confession and get back in God's good graces. It doesn't cost anything, and is not only open to the rich and powerful. Part of repentance involves not intending to continue to commit the same sin on an ongoing basis, though.
The issue with divorce-and-remarriage (not just divorce) is that the person is objectively not "repentant" if they are not living as brother or sister with their new (in civil law, at least) spouse. Again, that has nothing to do with wealth or power.
A Catholic funeral, strictly speaking, is not meant to "honor" the deceased but to pray for his soul. You aren't even *supposed* to have a eulogy.
Lots of people who aren't rich get church annulments.