Kerry Excommunicated?

A reader asked for my comments on the possibe excommunication of John Kerry (see my post Excommunication!). Here are the comments I left. slightly edited for clarity:

"Excommunication is extremely serious, and it can never be a cause for celebration, much less holier-than-thou gloating.

"Nevertheless, the Catholic Church is not Unitarian-Universalism, and the doctrines it holds are to be taken seriously by its members.

"The story mentions that Kerry's excommunication, if it indeed took place, would be 'latae sententiae, which means that it occurs automatically and does not require a formal pronouncement by any church official.'

"A similar case would arise with a Catholic woman who has an abortion. She excommunicates herself, but only, and this is the clincher, only if she knew beforehand that the penalty for an abortion was automatic excommunication. And it's important to remember that there's always a way back to the Church, even for the excommunicated (it's just more complicated than simple confesssion).

"It seems to me that Kerry probably has NOT been excommunicated. He doesn't seem to know enough about the Church he professes to belong to to have incurred an automatic excommunication. I still hold out hope for him. If he becomes President, maybe his opinions will change on abortion.

"I'd like to see more Bishops telling pro-abortion politicians to stay away from the Communion rails, which has been happening in some dioceses. I understand that a bishop in Louisiana excommunicated a pro-segregation politician in the 1960s. Abortion is an even greater evil.

"Still, like I said at the beginning, the excommunication of anyone is no cause for joy, as it cuts a Catholic off from the Sacraments of the Church."