There could be some sport at the expense of Pelosi and other fallen Catholics at public events, as protesters could hold a rite of “vitandus excommunication” (which technically has not be Canon law since 1983), and then perform a “Bell, Book and Candle” (which has not been Canon for a long time) ritual reenactment:
‘This ceremony involved a bishop, with 12 priests, reciting an oath on the altar:’
“We separate him, together with his accomplices and abettors, from the precious body and blood of the Lord and from the society of all Christians; we exclude him from our Holy Mother, the Church in Heaven, and on earth; we declare him excommunicate and anathema; we judge him damned, with the Devil and his angels and all the reprobate, to eternal fire until he shall recover himself from the toils of the devil and return to amendment and to penitence.
“After reciting this the priests would respond “So be it!” The bishop would ring a bell to evoke a death toll, close a holy book to symbolize the ex-communicant’s separation from the church, and snuff out a candle or candles, knocking them to the floor to represent the target’s soul being extinguished and removed from the light of God.”
Of course this would just be street theater, but it would still have a potent impact on these individuals and those Catholics who embrace them. It points to them personally as a statement of religious failure, that they have fallen from grace despite their denials, and it is clear that while the church itself no longer does this in a formal way, that the end result is the same.
And of course, the media would eat it up and it would make some very interesting headlines. Headlines the targeted individual would not like one bit.
I’m not a Catholic, but if I understand it correctly the Pope still has infallibility on matters of Canon Law, so he could bring that rite back if he felt it was necessary.
I doubt it would ever happen, but I think that His Holiness is probably just a tad irritated with SanFranNan today. I wonder if he’s tempted.
((((((sigh))))) My fantasy....