Michael Sean Winters, step away from the Code....

Michael Sean Winters, whom I enjoy disagreeing with, decided he would play canon lawyer for a day:

"The second point upon which we must be clear is that the "No Communion" policy is a radical innovation that should be resisted. First, it requires applying the canons in ways that are novel and dubious. Canon law is a pastoral instrument and recognizes that it should be applied with gentleness not vengeance."

A real canon lawyer (and my father, in fact), points out Winters' double-standard:

Ironically, it does not seem to occur to Winters that he quite willing to substitute his opinion on how canon 915 should be applied for that of actual pastors like Abp. Raymond Burke (a prelate whose credentials in canon law dwarf mine and, I'm guessing, Winters'). Burke offers a powerful, and I suggest compelling, case for the application of Canon 915 in the face of the metastasizing scandal of the prominent pro-abortion Catholic politician. Has Winters read it?

Of course not, but that doesn't mean Winters can't have an opinion.