Canon Law

Norma Jean Coon who had recently recanted her ordination in 2007 to the diaconate is smarter than Canonist Ed Peters. I say this in jest, but here is my evidence.

From a National Catholic Reporter article on this subject.

NCR contacted Coon twice by e-mail. She declined to make any comments.

From Ed Peters recent blog post.

For the second time this year, none of the careful replies on a news worthy topic that I prepared for the NCRep, at the NCRep’s request, made it into their article on the topic, even by way of token counterpoint to the NCRep editorial stance. And it’s not like the NCRep did not want to use e-mail responses, for at least two other e-mail responders were quoted at length in the story. So what exactly is going on?

So come on Mr. Peters. The next time Lucy presents the football, I mean NCReporter asks for comments – walk away.

It does though show NCReporter’s concern for the truth. They wanted to present Norma Jean Coon as being excommunicated despite the solid reasons Ed Peters gave that because of the time frame she was ordained this was not the case.

A representative of Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement told NCR that Coon had not been active or even in contact with the movement for more than three years

This is kind of like when you talk with somebody who believes in the preservation of the saints – once saved always saved and you point to one of their fellows who have fallen into sin. They will reply that person did not have faith and was not saved in the first place.

I find it rather interesting that it is progressive Catholics and the liberal news media that are bringing up that Sarah Palin was baptized as a Catholic.

The America Magazine blog has two posts on this today with one asking is "Is Palin an Apostate?" Though that is rather silly claim since apostasy is the total rejection by a baptized person of the Christian faith he once professed. Maybe he meant that she was in schism.

As canonist Ed Peters notes:

Sarah Palin’s probable Roman Catholic baptism and her life spent outside the Church is of little import in assessing her character. Unlike the case of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who seems to have left the Church as an adult, Palin’s parents apparently took her out of the practice of the Faith while she was yet a child, so Palin cannot be said to have decided against her Catholic identity, nor can anything be concluded about her remaining outside of full communion. Her "re-baptism" at age 12 or so, if that’s what it was, would not however be recognized by the Church (1983 CIC 845.1)

On the question as to whether she can be considered as making a formal act of defection he goes on to say.

Ironically, the only thing that Palin’s Catholic baptism and her life-time spent in good faith outside the Church does, I must say, is underscore again how unsustainable is the interpretation of "formal act of defection" that was handed down in April 2006. How so? Well, if "formal defection" per 1983 CIC 1117 can only be accomplished in writing (a completely new requirement, and one unattested, as far as I can tell, in canonical history!), then Palin never formally defected, which means that she is still bound by canonical form per 1983 CIC 1108, and that therefore her marriage cannot recognized by the Church!

Don’t get me wrong: I think that Palin’s marriage (based on what is publically known about it at this time, of course) is valid (and sacramental if Todd is baptized), and that it is this novel interpretation of "formal defection" that needs urgently to be corrected, not Palin’s matrimonial status. It’s just that I don’t like it when law and life seem to be out of step with each other and, for a change, it looks like the law’s fault.

But even beyond the question of "formal defection", the continued requirement of canonical form for the validity of marriage needs reexamination. There’s nothing new in my saying that: many canonists of the first order have been suggesting for 50 years now.

So this makes for a very interesting canonical questions, but certainly not one that would affect the votes of Catholics as liberals intend it should. It is also rather ironic that they bring this up and yet not to have any problem with Sen. Joe Biden as a culture of death Catholic politician whose voting record at times supports intrinsic evils.