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Can the Pope really excommunicate anybody?

Michael A. Dingwall (michael_a_dingwall@hotmail.com)

Recently, the officially atheistic People’s Republic of China inaugurated several Roman Catholic Bishops in the Chinese Church. Unlike most other Roman Catholic Churches around the world, the Chinese Catholic Church is not controlled by Rome, but by the Chinese government. This Chinese act has earned the wrath of Rome. In addition to condemning these appointments as invalid and heretical, the Pope has excommunicated these “false” Chinese Roman Catholic bishops. However, what really is excommunication? Can the Pope really excommunicate anybody?

If the pope can do this, then he is more powerful than god!

In the Roman Catholic Church, it would seem, all prayers from the faithful go to god. However, based on the principle of excommunication, it would seem that these prayers must first go through the Pope himself. As such, the Pope, all by himself, can decide to prevent god from hearing the prayers of anybody, by simply cutting the line. As he is “lower than god but higher than man, is judged by none and judges all”, he can very much do this. This in essence is what excommunication is all about.

Very unfortunate people have been excommunicated in the past. Famous people like the German Martin Luther and many other very significant and insignificant people have all had their “lines to the almighty” cut by “decisive” popes. But can one really image a mere mortal like the pope being in a position to prevent god from hearing the prayer of anybody? Do people really believe that this is so in our very modern, technologically advanced 21st century world?

Where did this concept of excommunication come from? No one is absolutely sure. However, the reason why it has remained an effective papal device is very clear - mind control. Like most religions, the process of excommunication is not a means to bring one back to god, rather it’s a means to force one back to the Church - and Papal authority. In other words, its another means of tightly controlling the members of the Roman Catholic Church. Be certain of this - god has absolutely nothing to do with excommunication - even if he did exist.

I had asked how could such a concept be accepted today, in our ultra-modern world? Are Roman Catholics stupid people? Why do they believe that in order to be able to talk to god, they must first go through the pope? Does god need the pope for a medium? Is it that the omnipotent god of the Roman Catholic Church is unable to hear the prayers of the faithful without the intersession of the pope - the man who is not even a man, but “higher than man”? Seeing that only Roman Catholics pay homage to the Pope, are we to take it that god does not listen to the prayers of non-Catholics, seeing that they don’t have the Pope to be the medium? I really don’t think that intelligent people really believe this load of nonsense!

While the concept of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church is supposed to be the spiritual guide to god, it would seem, like must other branches of Christianity and even most other religions, that that concept has been turned on its head. It is very clear - Catholics don’t worship their god through their pope, they worship their pope through their god! God, who they themselves have helped to invent, is the means, actually the bait, by which the pope is worshiped. This must be true - as it is the only explanation that I can think of as to why supposedly intelligent people would believe that the pope could (and still can) prevent god from hearing their prayers.

The atheistic government of China has scoffed at this response from the Pope in Rome - branding it for what it is: ridiculous nonsense. It was reported that some of the installed bishops are unhappy with the excommunication - they can no longer talk to god. I, however, would urge these bishops to ignore the Pope. He cannot stop god from hearing anybody and if he could, then the god of the Roman Catholic Church is not a god at all - but the pope’s puppet.

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