Excommunicated priest Greg Reynolds celebrated illicit Mass at which Communion was given to a dog
There's been much theatrical outrage at Pope Francis's decision to excommunicate Fr Greg Reynolds, an Australian priest who supports women's ordination and gay marriages. But let's look at the charges against Reynolds a bit more carefully. According to the National Catholic Reporter, a letter of protest to the Vatican contained an incredibly serious accusation:
The letter, a copy of which NCR obtained and translated, accuses Reynolds of heresy (Canon 751) and determined he incurred latae sententiae excommunication for throwing away the consecrated host or retaining it "for a sacrilegious purpose" (Canon 1367).
What can that mean? This report from the Melbourne Age last year fills in the gaps. At one of Reynolds's illicit Masses,
A first-time visitor arrived late at the Inclusive Catholics service in South Yarra with a large and well-trained German shepherd. When the consecrated bread and wine were passed around, the visitor took some bread and fed it to his dog.
Apart from one stifled gasp, those present showed admirable presence of mind – but the dog was not offered the cup!
(continued, took a bite out of the ol' master but never drew blood...)
